The 2011 Caldecott Medal Winner

The 2011 Randolph Caldecott Medal winner and 2011 Caldecott Honor Books were announced on January 10, 2011 at the Midwinter meeting of the American Library Association (ALA). Here in the United States, the Randolph Caldecott Medal is the most prestigious award for illustration of children's picture books that an artist can receive. In addition to the 2011 Caldecott Medal winner, Erin E. Stead, illustrator of A Sick Day for Amos McGee, two children's picture books were selected as Caldecott Honor Books.

The 2011 Caldecott Medal

A Sick Day for Amos McGee, for which Erin E. Stead is the 2011 Caldecott Medal winner, is the first children's book that the artist has illustrated. Her husband, Philip C. Stead, is the author of A Sick Day for Amos McGee. (Neal Porter Book, Roaring Book Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing, 2010. ISBN: 9781596434028). Compare prices.

According to the American Library Association, "In this tender tale of reciprocity and friendship, zookeeper Amos McGee gets the sniffles and receives a surprise visit from his caring animal friends. Erin Stead’s delicate woodblock prints and fine pencil work complement Philip Stead’s understated, spare and humorous text to create a well-paced, gentle and satisfying book, perfect for sharing with friends.

“'Endearing, expressive characterization in spare illustrations rendered in muted tones distinguish this timeless picture book. It’s a great day for Amos McGee!' said Caldecott Medal Committee Chair Judy Zuckerman.

"Erin E. Stead lives with her husband Philip in a renovated 100-year-old barn in Ann Arbor, Mich. A Sick Day for Amos McGee, her first book, appeared on The New York Times 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books list of 2010." (January 10, 2011 ALA media release)

The 2011 Caldecott Honor Books

Note: The quotations below come from the American Library Association's January 10, 2011 media release referenced above.

• Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill (Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc., 2010. ISBN: 9780316107310) Compare prices. Bryan Collier's illustrations were also honored with a 2011 Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Award for Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave.

  "Collier’s arrestingly beautiful artistic interpretation of Hill’s poetic text reveals Dave the potter’s artistic process while also conveying the dignified triumph of his humanity in the face of oppression. Lush, earth-toned, multimedia collages are illuminated in soft, ethereal light that focuses the eye on the subject of each spread."

• Interrupting Chicken, written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein (Candlewick Press, 2010. ISBN: 9780763641689) Compare prices.

  "Stein’s hilarious story presents Little Chicken and her long-suffering Papa, who just wants to get through a bedtime story without his daughter’s metafictive disruptions. Exuberant artwork shifts media and style, taking readers into three fairy tales, culminating in Little Chicken’s 'Bedtime for Papa,' but truly delivering a story for all."

Like last year's Caldecott books, all of these picture books lend themselves to reading aloud and sharing as a family. A Sick Day For Amos McGee creates a lovely quiet mood that is perfect for bedtime. Interrupting Chicken, while a story about bedtime, is a much more exuberant story and a lot of fun for young listeners already well-versed in the traditional tales it covers. Dave the Potter is a fascinating story that independent readers will also enjoy on their own. I hope you’ll these books with your family.