(Book Cover Source: WorldCat at http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/38883898, accessed September 13, 2008)BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Marcus, Leonard S. 1998. A Caldecott Celebration: Six artists and their paths to the Caldecott Medal . New York: Walker and Company. ISBN 0802786561
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Respected author, historian, and critic, Leonard S. Marcus has created an informative book celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Caldecott Medal, the most eminent award for illustrations in a children's book. He begins with an introduction explaining the origins and relevance of the award. He then focuses upon six Caldecott winners, choosing one winner representative of each decade of the award. From the 1940's to the 1990's, Marcus highlights the works of Robert McCloskey, Marcia Brown, Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Chris Van Allsburg, and David Weisner, respectively. Combining bibliographic information, anecdotes, photographs, and story illustrations in various stages of completion, Marcus provides a thorough portrait of the illustrators and how these celebrated book illustrations came to be. Each chapter about an illustrator closes with a list of their works which have also received the Caldecott Medal or was a Caldecott Honor Book. The book concludes with a complete listing of all of the Caldecott Medal Winners from 1938-1998, a glossary of art and publishing terms, and an Index of Proper Nouns.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Despite being a work of nonfiction, this book has the charm of a fictional story. Marcus has chosen fascinating anecdotes from the illustrators' experiences which delight the reader. For instance, in order to help him accurately draw ducks for Make Way for Ducklings, McCloskey ended up with 16 ducks living in his apartment in Greenwich Village. To correctly draw the underside of a duck's bill, he wrapped a duck in a towel, placed it on top of a couch, and then lay on the floor, looking up at the duck so he could sketch it.
A great deal of research is evident in the book, yet rather than being dry, unique personalities emerge from the pages. The reader also learns a lot about the varied processes of creating illustrations. Mediums are discussed, and historical challenges like "pre-separating" the colors in the 1950's are explained. Each chapter begins with an engaging quote from the illustrator's Caldecott acceptance speech. The closing of each chapter with a list of additional awards received after the initial Caldecott, indicates that this was not a one-time thing. These are highly talented, creative individuals, and Marcus has brought them alive for us on the pages of this book. While the books begins with a Table of Contents for browsing, it is definitely worth reading it cover-to-cover to not only gain a more thorough understanding of the progression of the art of illustrating children's books, but for the sheer enjoyment as well.
A weakness of this book might be the scope of its appeal. The reading level appears to be at the middle school level. Thus, it would be more appropriate for an adult to read it aloud to younger children. It would work nicely to supplement a lesson about the Caldecott Award. However, it might have limited appeal for individual readers beyond those who are bibliophiles, have a keen interest in illustrating, or are adult librarians or teachers. As one of the latter category, I will go on record as saying I thoroughly enjoyed the book on both an entertainment and an educational level. I learned much I did not know about the illustrators and the evolution of the process of illustrating books. I look forward one day, to sharing this book with students when I am a campus librarian.
4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
The Horn Book: "A fresh, inviting examination of an established process and ritual."
Booklist: "A beautifully made book."
School Library Journal: "This title has just about everything readers might want . . . so many good stories for children and adults to enjoy."
5. CONNECTIONS
*This book would be a wonderful resource to use in conjunction with a lesson on children's books illustrations. One could gather other books by the illustrators highlighted in this book and launch a discussion about the similarities and differences among one of the illustrator's own works, and between the works of the other illustrators discussed in the book.
*Other titles about the creation of children's picture books which focus on illustrators include:
Cummings, Pat. Talking With Artists, Volume 1. ISBN 0027242455
Cummings, Pat. Talking With Artists, Volume 2. ISBN 0689803109
Cummings, Pat. Talking With Artists, Volume 3. ISBN 0395891329
Cummins, Julie. Wings of an Artist. ISBN 0810945525
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Artist to Artist: 23 major illustrators talk to children about their art. ISBN 0399246002
