Differences between Caldecott and Newbery Awards

The Newbery Award

The Newbery Award has been awarded annually since 1922 by the American Library Association. It is awarded to a distinguished American Children's book published the previous year. It is given in honor of the eighteenth century bookseller John Newbery.

The Caldecott Award

The Caldecott Award has been awarded annually since 1938 by the American Library Association. It is awarded to a children's picture book with the most distinguished pictures that was published that year. It is given in honor of nineteenth century illustrator Randolph Caldecott.

Is one award better than the other? In my opinion, neither award is better than the other. The awards are given for two different reasons- the Caldecott is given for distinuished illustrations and the Newberry is given for distinguished writing. I think that both awards are pretigious and aren't comparable to one another because they are given for two different reasons. For a picture book illustrator, recieving the Caldecott Award would be an honor. For a children's book writer, recieving the Newbery Award would be an honor. I think that the pictures in a children's picture book are just important as the text, because lots of younger children use the pictures in the story to understand it's meaning, especially if they can't read. Even as an adult, if the text is not visual enough for me, I like to have pictures to go along with the text.

Corretta Scott King Award Book

Weatherford, Carole. (2006). Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom.
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Weatherford is about Harriet Tubman escaping freedom and helping several other African Americans, including her parents, escape from freedom. The book is told through a series of prayers between Harriet and God. This book won the 2007 Corretta Scott King Award for its detailed and realistic oil and water color paintings.

Newbery Award Books

Curtis, Christopher (2002). Bud, Not Buddy.
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Curtis is about a little boy whose mom dies. He is sent to foster homes to live and he hates it. He decides that he is going to pack his bags and search the man he thinks is his father, H.E. Calloway, a bandleader. This is a great book for kids to read, because it has a great story line and it incorporates a lot of American history. It won the 2000 Newbery Award.









Schmidt, Gary. (2009). The Wednesday Wars.
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt is about Holling Hoodwood, a boy who is growing up while the Vietnam War is going on. Holling thinks he is going to have the worth year ever. He is the only seventh grader at his school that is Presbyterian so he can't attend religious classes with his classmates. He has to stay with his teacher, Mrs. Baker during that time, so he thinks she will hate him. On top of that the class bully is picking on him and his dad expects him to take over his company some day. Read this book to find out if it turns out okay for Holling or not! It won the 2008 Newbery Award.

Caldecott Award Winning Books

George, Judith. (2004). So You Want to Be President.
So You Want to Be President by Judith George and illustrated by David Small is about 42 former U.S. Presidents. It gives interesting information, well known facts, and family history of each of the 42 presidents it discusses. The book is very funny and would be perfect for a class studying the U.S. presidents. This book won the 2001 Caldecott Award for Judith George's hilarious and detailed caricatured pictures.






Levine, Ellen. (2007). Henry's Freedom Box.
Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine and illustrated by Kadir Nelson is about a boy named Henry. He was born in to slavery and he has always dreamed of freedom. At a young age his owner seperated him from his family so he could work in a warehouse. He accepted his life as a slave and when he got older he got married and had two kids. Unfortunately his family was sold in the slave market and he was all alone again. When this happens he decides to make his dream of being free a reality and he ships himself to the North with the help of a white doctor. This book won the 2007 Cadelcott Award for the beautiful pencil, watercolor, and oil pictures Kadir Nelson uses to illustrate this story.


Giovanni, Nikki. (2007). Rosa.
Rosa by Nikki Giovanni and illustrated by Bryan Collier is about Rosa Parks. In 1955 Rosa refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. She was a seamstress and she was tired from working all day. When she refused to give up her seat she was arrested. This caused African Americans to boycott the bus system until bus segregation came to a halt. This book won the 2006 Caldecott and Coretta Scott Awards. Bryan Collier used water color and collage pictures to make this book's illustrations realistic. When you read the book, you feel as if Rosa is sitting right next to you.




Sidman, Joyce. (2009). Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors.
Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski is about the seasons. Each season is represented by different colors. This book comes to life with it's vivid, detailed pictures and colorful poems. Pamela Zagarenski won the Caldecott Award in 2010 for her beautiful collage painting illustrations in this book.




Cronin, Dorren. (2000). Click, Clack, Moo Cows.
Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin is about a herd of cows that send Farmer Brown messages by typing them on the typewriter. Farmer Brown reads them and discovers that the cows want electric blankets so they aren't so cold in the barn. When Farmer Brown refuses to give the cows what they want they go on strike and so do other animals on the farm. This is a really hilarious book. Children will be rolling over with laughter when they read it. Betsy Lewin won the Caldecott Award for her detailed and colorful pictures that it make you feel like you are really in the setting of the story.