CALDECOTT

The House in the Night

Author: Susan Marie Swanson

Illustrator: Beth Krommes

Swanson, S. M., & Krommes, B. (2008). The house in the night. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 

Genre: Fantasy

Awards: 2009 Caldecott Medal

Summary: A bedtime book where a young child names things in progression then regression.  The illustrations are all in black except things that would be gold have that color.

How this book relates to young children: Young children enjoy naming things and this is a simple book that even youngest readers can "read."

How I would use this book with young children:  This book can be used to teach sequencing.

The Glorious Flight

Authors/Illustrators: Alice Provensen & Martin Provensen

Provensen, A., & Provensen, M. (1983). The glorious flight: Across the Channel with Louis Blériot, July 25, 1909. New York, N.Y: Puffin Books.

Genre: Biography

Awards: 1984 Caldecott Medal

Summary: The biography of Louis Bleriot, who built flying machines until he created one that carried him across the English Channel in 1909.

How this book relates to young children: Teaches theme of persistence and children always have a fascination with airplanes.

How I would use this book with young children: This book can be used in a unit on inventors.

Hey, Al

Author: Arthur Yorinks

Illustrator: Richard Egielski

Yorinks, A., & Egielski, R. (1986). Hey, Al. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Genre: Fantasy

Awards: 1987 Caldecott Medal

Summary: The story of Al and his dog, Eddie, who are tired with their "boring" life and take off on an adventure but soon discover that there is no place like home.

How this book relates to young children: Children begin at a young age wanting things bigger and better and this book teaches a good moral lesson. 

How I would use this book with young children: This book can be used to have children identify the theme/lesson of a story and discuss the validity of that argument.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

Author/Illustrator: Mordicai Gerstein

Gerstein, M., Tuosto, F., & Roaring Brook Press. (2003). The man who walked between the towers. Brookfield, Conn: Roaring Brook Press.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Awards: 2004 Caldecott Medal, 2004 Boston Globe - Horn Book Award for Picture Books

Summary: The story of Philippe Petit, a tightrope walker who braved the sky to walk between the World Trade Center towers in 1974.

How this book relates to young children: The daring subject matter make this book intriguing for all children.

How I would use this book with young children: This would be a great story to use around the anniversary of 9/11.

Black and White

Author/Illustrator: David Macaulay

Macaulay, D., & Houghton Mifflin Company. (1990). Black and white. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Genre: Fantasy

Awards: 1991 Caldecott Medal

Summary: Four seemingly unrelated stories are told on each page and the reader is given clues about how the stories may actually relate to one another.  The illustrations for each story are different which allow the reader to know which picture goes with what story.

How this book relates to young children: The four stories being told simultaneously in the book will keep a young audience captivated and wondering.

How I would use this book with young children: This book can be used for a discussion and lesson over inferencing.