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Please only add picture books published in 2023 that meet the terms and criteria for the Caldecott Award: https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants...
Terms and Criteria include:
The "picture book for children" must ... "have a collective unity of story-line, theme or concept developed through the series of pictures"; have an intended audience of children up to and including age 14; have a publication date and/or was first available for purchase in the year 2023; be in English (translated works already published elsewhere in the author's language are ineligible); and be a self-contained work with original illustrations that are distinguished and demonstrate excellence of artistic technique and appropriateness of style and interpretation of the story or theme.
Note: the criterion that most often excludes a work on this list is the requirement that the illustrator(s), who receives the award, must reside in or have a residence in the US or US territories.
Caldecott Nominees and Winners:
Caldecott Medal Winners
Caldecott Honor Books
Picture Books by Decade:
2020s, 2010s, 2000s, 1990s, 1980s, 1970s, 1960s, 1950s, 1940s and before
Picture Books by Year:
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
2020, 2021, 2022
Caldecott Contenders aka Mock Caldecotts by year:
2009
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
See also
Best Picture Books
Best Popular Picture Books on Goodreads
Children's Picture Books With Beautiful illustrations
Wordless Picture Books
Terms and Criteria include:
The "picture book for children" must ... "have a collective unity of story-line, theme or concept developed through the series of pictures"; have an intended audience of children up to and including age 14; have a publication date and/or was first available for purchase in the year 2023; be in English (translated works already published elsewhere in the author's language are ineligible); and be a self-contained work with original illustrations that are distinguished and demonstrate excellence of artistic technique and appropriateness of style and interpretation of the story or theme.
Note: the criterion that most often excludes a work on this list is the requirement that the illustrator(s), who receives the award, must reside in or have a residence in the US or US territories.
Caldecott Nominees and Winners:
Caldecott Medal Winners
Caldecott Honor Books
Picture Books by Decade:
2020s, 2010s, 2000s, 1990s, 1980s, 1970s, 1960s, 1950s, 1940s and before
Picture Books by Year:
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
2020, 2021, 2022
Caldecott Contenders aka Mock Caldecotts by year:
2009
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
See also
Best Picture Books
Best Popular Picture Books on Goodreads
Children's Picture Books With Beautiful illustrations
Wordless Picture Books
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 101 |
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Dear Stray
by
Kirsten Hubbard (Goodreads Author)
4.17 avg rating — 282 ratings
score: 52,
and
1 person voted
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| 102 |
|
Ancient Night
by
David Bowles (Goodreads Author)
3.86 avg rating — 591 ratings
score: 50,
and
1 person voted
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| 103 |
|
Zora, the Story Keeper
by
Ebony Joy Wilkins (Goodreads Author)
4.32 avg rating — 173 ratings
score: 49,
and
1 person voted
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| 104 |
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Oh, Olive!
by
Lian Cho (Goodreads Author)
4.16 avg rating — 345 ratings
score: 48,
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1 person voted
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| 105 |
|
Small Places, Close to Home: A Child's Declaration of Rights: Inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
by
Deborah Hopkinson (Goodreads Author)
4.50 avg rating — 104 ratings
score: 45,
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1 person voted
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| 106 |
|
Catside Up, Catside Down: A Book of Prepositions
by
4.24 avg rating — 318 ratings
score: 44,
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1 person voted
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| 107 |
|
Mole Is Not Alone
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4.31 avg rating — 546 ratings
score: 40,
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1 person voted
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| 108 |
|
You Go First
by
Ariel Bernstein (Goodreads Author)
4.10 avg rating — 292 ratings
score: 32,
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1 person voted
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| 109 |
|
Night in the City
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4.16 avg rating — 315 ratings
score: 31,
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1 person voted
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| 110 |
|
The Moon Remembers: A Celestial Lullaby for All Ages
by
E.B. Goodale (Goodreads Author)
3.80 avg rating — 130 ratings
score: 29,
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1 person voted
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| 111 |
|
Plátanos Go with Everything
by
Lissette Norman (Goodreads Author)
4.27 avg rating — 263 ratings
score: 24,
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1 person voted
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| 112 |
|
Palace of Books
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4.24 avg rating — 421 ratings
score: 23,
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1 person voted
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| 113 |
|
Summer Is For Cousins
by
Rajani LaRocca (Goodreads Author)
4.11 avg rating — 398 ratings
score: 22,
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1 person voted
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| 114 |
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Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?
by
Junauda Petrus (Goodreads Author)
4.03 avg rating — 309 ratings
score: 21,
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1 person voted
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| 115 |
|
Not He or She, I'm Me
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3.83 avg rating — 323 ratings
score: 18,
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1 person voted
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| 116 |
|
Stanley's Secret
by
3.93 avg rating — 273 ratings
score: 17,
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1 person voted
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| 117 |
|
Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series
by
Traci Sorell (Goodreads Author)
3.99 avg rating — 245 ratings
score: 16,
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1 person voted
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| 118 |
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On the Tip of a Wave: How Ai Weiwei's Art Is Changing the Tide
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4.32 avg rating — 229 ratings
score: 11,
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1 person voted
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| 119 |
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To See Clearly: A Portrait of David Hockney
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4.16 avg rating — 91 ratings
score: 10,
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1 person voted
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| 120 |
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Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!: Presenting Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock & Roll
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4.02 avg rating — 180 ratings
score: 8,
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1 person voted
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| 121 |
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We Could Fly: (A Picture Book Exploring African Folklore, Black History, and Spiritual Resilience - For Kids Ages 6-9 in Grades 1-4)
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4.11 avg rating — 291 ratings
score: 6,
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1 person voted
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| 122 |
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Christo and Jeanne-Claude Wrap the World: The Story of Two Groundbreaking Environmental Artists
by
G. Neri (Goodreads Author)
3.90 avg rating — 87 ratings
score: 4,
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1 person voted
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| 123 |
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The Red Tin Box
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3.98 avg rating — 220 ratings
score: 3,
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1 person voted
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| 124 |
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Game of Freedom: Mestre Bimba and the Art of Capoeira
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3.96 avg rating — 101 ratings
score: 2,
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1 person voted
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| 125 |
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Becoming Charley
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3.80 avg rating — 253 ratings
score: 1,
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1 person voted
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Comments Showing 1-1 of 1 (1 new)
Anyone can add books to this list.
How to Vote
To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.
To vote on books not in the list or books you couldn't find in the list, you can click on the tab add books to this list and then choose from your books, or simply search.
Thank you so much for voting on this list and for adding titles that had impressed you over the past year. We did pretty well at predicting some of the 2024 Caldecott winners:
>Medal Winner: Big - written and illustrated by Vashti Harrison (#2 on our list)
>Honor Books:
- In Every Life - written and illustrated by Marla Frazee (#5 on our list)
- Jovita Wore Pants - illustrated by Molly Mendoza and written by Aida Salazar (#46 on our list)
- There Was a Party for Langston - illustrated by brothers Jerome & Jarrett Pumphrey and written by Jason Reynolds (#15 on our list)
- The Truth about Dragons - illustrated by Hanna Cha and written by Julie Leung (a book wholly new to most of our voters b/c it wasn't on our list!)
I have to admit, I was seriously disappointed not to see American Story get any Caldecott recognition because the various forms of artwork presented in the book seemed to be on another level from the rest of the field, especially knowing that Dare Coulter spent years crafting them, but at least she won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator award.
On that note, I have added 7 more picture books awarded medals or honors for the Youth Media Awards that also complied with Caldecott rules (some were illustrated by artists who do not reside in the US or were published prior to 2023). I did this in case you continue to use this list as a resource of the best picture books written in 2023 when doing reader advisory with library patrons or with students.
Looking forward, I have started the 2025 Mock Caldecott List on Goodreads and hope you participate with that list as well. (link: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1... )
Happy Reading!
Beth