Caldecott Award Winning Book List (20th Century)

These books won either the Caldecott Honor or Caldecott Medal in the 1900’s. The award is given to the best contribution to children’s literature from an artistic perspective. The judges, which includes a panel of fifteen librarians and educators, review the children’s books that were published that year. After deliberation and several rounds, they choose one winner and a few (sometimes only one) honorable mentions. The books have themes such as curiosity, friendship, and childhood wonder and often include aspects of history, nature, and culture. 

It is interesting to see how the books that were successful or noteworthy seventy-five years ago are wildly different from the books that are popular today. For one, many of the books which won the Caldecott Award for being significant children’s books of their day, are no longer in print and are hard to even find. There are also a lot of stereotypical pictures regarding race, another reflection of the times. However, not all have fallen by the wayside, and the artwork and stories of many of these books are timeless classics that should be enjoyed and appreciated our children growing up in another century, reading the same picture books their grandparents or great-grandparents may have read as a child. Here is a list of Caldecott books which have compelling stories, beautiful, unique art, and timeless messages and are still available for purchasing.