Caldecotts: The Best of the Best!

Let’s start out our summer picture book celebration by reading the top award-winning picture books of all!

Each year the Caldecott Medal is awarded to the illustrator of that year’s best picture book. As picture book writers, it’s important to keep our ear to the ground and familiarize ourselves with these amazing masterpieces of children’s literature.

For a list of Caldecott Medal and Honor Books, CLICK HERE.

Then, sign on to your local library county system’s website and order in all the books on this list from 2008 up to 2012.

Once your books have arrived at your library, sit down and read these amazing books for pleasure. Read them to a child. Read them aloud. And then study them and fill out a picture book rubric for each one to keep in your personal writer’s notebook so that you can learn WHY these books are winners!

JOIN THE CELEBRATION!

This summer we’re holding a picture book celebration here on my blog all summer long!

If you want to join in the celebration, there are 3 basic things you can do hop on board:

1. READ picture books

2. WRITE picture books

3. POST about picture books on your website, blog, twitter, facebook, or other social network you’re already plugged into

If you want to be part of the celebration, you can even sign up on a list I’m creating for everyone to see so we can visit each other’s sites…all summer long! Just post a comment here today with the URL of your site and I’ll add your blog to this list with links to everyone’s site.