Review: A CALDECOTT CELEBRATION by Leonard S. Marcus

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Marcus, Leonard S. 1998. A Caldecott Celebration. New York: Walker and Company. ISBN 0802786561

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Marcus details the life and career of six Caldecott award winners. He has chosen one from each decade from the 1940s to the 1990s. He not only reveals the inner-workings of the artists’ award winning works but also provides the reader with background knowledge of each artist’s early career, the inspiration for their work, and insight into their thoughts on children’s literature and what it has meant to each of them.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
A Caldecott Celebration provides readers with a behind-the-scenes view of how artists of children’s picture books create their wonderful works of art. By including the sketches of the artist’s first rough draft of their work, Marcus allows the reader to understand how intensely these artists must work to ultimately create the masterpieces we see when the book is finally published. He also includes photographs of the artists which help readers put a face with the name that is listed on the book beside “illustrated by.” To this end, children can see that these pictures did not appear by magic, but that actual human hands had to draw and color each one. He also details the various styles represented by each artist from Sendak’s use of india ink and tempera in Where the Wild Things Are to the bold use of watercolors by Wiesner in Tuesday.

The text of the book contains enough interesting information about each artist’s background to allow the reader to form a connection, but not so much as to become wearisome for children to read. Marcus also supplements his own narration with quotes from the artists allowing their thoughts and feelings to be revealed. Hopefully, aspiring artists will be able to catch the enthusiasm for illustration from the stories of these awesome artists.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “The large, attractive pages invite readers to savor the multitude of illustrations.”
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY review: “With Marcus's sure hand guiding this tour, readers will find cause for celebration.”

5. CONNECTIONS
Students can be introduced to various art mediums through the examples provided in Marcus’s book inspiring them to create their own illustrations for their favorite stories.
After researching a recent Caldecott winner, students can create their own presentation about a chosen artist.