Creating a Children's Picture Book

I. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Marcus, Leonard S. 1998. A CALDECOTT CELEBRATION: SIX ARTISTS AND THEIR PATHS TO THE CALDECOTT MEDAL. New York: Walker and Co.

II. PLOT SUMMARY

In A CALDECOTT CELBRATION, Marcus highlights six children’s book illustrators who won the Caldecott Medal over six decades. In each chapter, Marcus tells the story of how each award winning book’s illustrations were created. He describes the interaction artists had with their editor. When available he provides early sketches of the artists work on their books. Illustrators also share their reaction to being awarded the prestigious Caldecott Medal.

III. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Marcus’s selection of six Caldecott Medal winners over six decades offers a true cross section of the evolution of illustrations in children’s literature. The stories of the six illustrators reveal the process of making a picture book. The book is illustrated with the early sketches of the artists, revealing the grueling rewrites and re-illustrating involved with creating an award winning children’s picture book. By showing the process, readers are able to visually see the evolution of the illustrations.

Another important aspect of Marcus’ writing are the anecdotes, both humorous and insightful, about each of the six illustrators. Marcus describes how Robert McCloskey adopted sixteen ducks to share his apartment. McCloskey used these ducks to act as his models in his book MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS. Marcus also describes how Marcia Brown drew her characters for CINDERELLA; OR, THE LITTLE GLASS SLIPPER, and cut them out to arrange them on the page. She describes the process as similar to playing with paper dolls. These descriptions aid in the understanding of the process of illustrating.

Marcus captures the process and inspirations of the art of illustration. He describes the failures and successes of the illustrators. In one example, Maurice Sendak, author of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, continually re-wrote his story, even recommending to himself to abandon the story. Thankfully, he did not give up on the story, and he was able to solve his problems when he came up with the title of his story.

A CALDECOTT CELEBRATION is presented in a chronological order, allowing the reader to visually see the evolution in children’s illustrations. The book provides thorough biographical information on each featured author as well as interesting anecdotes about the process of illustration. The large layout allows the reader to see the examples of illustrations easily, and the stories give the reader a vicarious experience in the art of illustrating a children’s picture book.


IV. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

“The large, attractive pages invite readers to savor the multitude of illustrations. Some of them show the various drafts leading up to the finished art so that readers can easily see the evolution of the artists' ideas.” –School Library Journal

“With Marcus's sure hand guiding this tour, readers will find cause for celebration.” –Publisher’s Weekly

V. CONNECTIONS

**Collect the other books written by the six featured authors, and compare the illustrations to the award winning book.

**Find other Caldecott winning books from other years.