Caldecott vs. Newbery Awards

            In the United States, two of the most esteemed awards that can be given to children’s literature are the Caldecott and Newbery awards.  Although both of these awards are geared towards highly esteemed children’s literature and are awarded to authors that are US citizens or residents, there are also many differences in the criteria for each of the awards.

            In general, the Newbery awards seem to be given to books that are written for older children, whereas the Caldecott awards are given to books that are written for a younger audience.  Although there is not a specific age level focus for either of the awards, they both seem to focus on a specific age level because of the nature of the literature.

            Caldecott awards take large considerations into the pictorial representations of the plot and characters in the story.  In order for a book to win a Caldecott award, the artistic techniques employed throughout the book are considered.  The book must portray the story through pictures.  Words are optional.

            The Newbery award was the first children’s book award in the world. Newbery awards are given to authors who make esteemed contributions to children’s literature.  Their writing must be original and thought provoking.  The Newbery award is given as an incentive to encourage writers to write engaging, distinguished literature for children.

            It is impossible to say whether one award is better than the other.  Both awards are highly esteemed honors and celebrate creativity within children’s literature.  Since the awards are very different in their nature, they are hard to compare with one another in the sense of value.  If one values the pictorial display of a story more than the written form, then one would value the Caldecott awards more.  If one values the insight of written work more than the pictorial, then one would value the Newbery more.   

Awards given for children's books published in other countries

            There are many awards that are given for different genres of children’s literature.  Since the population of the United States is changing to include a wider variety of cultures from other countries, it is important to value books that are published from other countries.  There are awards given to books that are published in other countries that are available to children in the United States. 

            One award that is given to children’s books that are published in other countries is the Pura Belpre award.  The Pura Belpre award is given annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays and celebrates the Latino culture.  The award is named after the first Latina librarian of the New York Public Library. 

            Another award given to children’s books that are published in other countries is the Batchelder award.  The Batchelder award is given to the most outstanding children’s book originally printed outside of the United States of America.  The book must originally be printed in a language other than English and then be translated into English.  This award honors Mildred L. Batchelder, a former executive director of the Association for Library Service to Children, a believer in the importance of good books for children in translation from all parts of the world.

"The Bracelet" --A book by Yoshiko Uchida

                “The Bracelet” by Yoshiko Unchida is a story about a young girl, Emi, who is a Japanese-American who was being sent to a prison camp because America was at war with Japan.  Emi’s friend, Laurie brings her a bracelet to take with her to the camp.  Emi wanted to keep the bracelet forever in order to always remember her friend.  When Emi arrived at the lonely, dirty camp, she realized that she had lost her bracelet.  At first, she was extremely sad that she had lost the bracelet, but then she understood that she did not need a bracelet to remember Laurie, but that she would always carry Laurie with her in her heart.  She would never forget her best friend.

                I liked that this book showed the truth of the hardships that Japanese-Americans went through in 1942.  I was hit hard when I read that there was a sign that read “We are loyal Americans.”  An important role of children’s literature is to show the truth about historical events.  I liked that this book was willing to show the mistake of putting Japanese-Americans through such harsh conditions during the war with Japan.  Although it’s humbling and difficult to read the truth at times, I appreciated the honest portrayal of this time in this children’s book.  I wish that this book had given a few more details about what was going on in history during the time of the war.  I think that if the author had included more of the details of the author’s note throughout the story, children would walk away with a deeper understanding of the historical events. 

                In reading “The Bracelet” I learned that at times, children’s literature can be more honest than adult literature.  Seeing how a child is impacted by a terrible event such as the prison-camps, one can learn a new perspective of history.  The viewpoint of a child seems to give an honest and naïve look at evil deeds.  I learned that at times, it is children who can teach us the most because of their honesty and simplicity.

Other books by Yoshiko Uchida:

Samurai of Gold Hill

Journey to Topaz

Jar of Dreams

Picture Bride

The Best Bad Thing

Journey Home

Caldecott Medal Winner "The Three Pigs" by David Wiesner

                “The Three Pigs” by David Wiesner is a Caldecott Medal winning book.  Throughout this book, Wisner uses creative illustrating techniques.  The book begins with the classic three little pigs story.  As the story continues, the pigs “escape” from the regular story book and begin to explore other stories.  Characters from other stories join the pigs as they continue to journey through other story books.

                When I first began reading this book, I thought it was going to be just a basic retelling of the classic story.  I really enjoyed this book because of the creative thinking that was involved in creating the illustrations and story line.   The fact that the pigs were able to “escape” from their own story captivated my attention and kept me wondering what would happen next.  I also enjoyed the contrast between the old storybook illustrations and the “escaped” illustrations.  The contrast made it easier to see which characters were still in the storybooks and which ones had come out.

                The library media specialist at my school highly recommended “The Three Pigs” to me.  He explained how creative the illustrations were to me.  I think that talking to him before I read the book made me more excited and intrigued into the illustrations and story line than I would have been if I hadn’t talked to him.  I think that my positive reaction to the book was impacted by my conversation with the LMS before I actually read through the text.

                The style of the illustrations in this book reminded me quite a bit of David Wiesner’s other Caldecott winning book, “Flotsam.”  On one page, Wiesner even used the same fish that he included in “Flotsam.”  In both books, Wiesner demonstrates a creative perspective of a somewhat simple event.  He thinks outside of the box when creating books.  In turn, his books become engaging and interesting because of his unique perspectives!

                In reading “The Three Pigs,” I learned that thinking outside the box is important in creating an engaging story.  I was amazed at the creativity that was included in a “simple children’s book.”  “The Three Pigs” taught me that characters in a book can truly come alive to the reader if they are developed in the right way.  This text would be great to use in teaching children to think outside of the box when they are creating a narrative.   

Jerry Pinkney and Caldecott Medal Book-- "The Lion and the Mouse"

            The book “The Lion and the Mouse” is a heart-warming tale of a lion who catches a mouse for his prey, but decides to let the mouse go free.  Then, the lion is caught in a net by poachers.  The mouse hears the lions roar of distress and frees the lion from the net.  In the author’s note, Pinkney discusses how he enjoyed the heart warming fable so much that he wanted to capture it in a picture book.  The moral of the story is that the meek can triumph the mighty.

            The story of this book is told primarily through pictures.  The only words that appear in the book are the sounds that the animals or vehicles are making.  Even though the tale is communicated only through drawings, its story-line and moral are both crystal clear.  The illustrations have such vivid detail that one is able to perceive every emotion that Pinkney intended the audience to view. 

            I really enjoyed the moral of the story.  I love that the small mouse was the unlikely hero of the book and came to save the powerful lion in the end.  I’m always a fan of stories in which the underdog comes out on top!  I also liked that the lion and the mouse were an unlikely pair, but ended up needing each other to survive. 

            This book had a similar illustration style to all of the other Jerry Pinkney books that I have read.  His pictures are detailed, with muted colors and have great texture.  Pinkney seems to be able to tell any story in a powerful way through pictures. 

            Through reading this book, I was able to learn that even short picture books can express a deep moral and meaning.  Even though there were few words to the book, the book displayed the powerful moral that the meek can triumph the mighty.   The message that the meek and mighty must also work together to survive is also communicated through this book.  I think that the more and more I read through the story, the more meaning I would be able to see in the story being communicated.

           

Other Books By Jerry Pinkney

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Little Red Riding Hood

Three Little Kittens

The Little Red Hen

Noah’s Ark

Mirandy and Brother Wind

Puss in Boots

Strange Animals of the Sea

"Rules" by Cynthia Lord-- Newbery Honor Book

            “Rules” by Cynthia Lord is one of the greatest books that I have read throughout this semester.  The book is about a girl named Catherine and the difficulties she faces in having an autistic brother.  She meets a boy named Jason at the OT that her brother goes to.  She and Jason strike up a friendship, despite the fact that Jason’s only means of communicating is a communication book that he keeps with him on his wheelchair.  Catherine wants to be liked by her new neighbors Kristi, but is afraid of what she will think of her if she’s with her brother and Jason.  In the end, Catherine overcomes her fear of what people will think of her and brings both Jason and her brother to the dance held at the community center in the end of the book.

            I really liked that this book opened my eyes to the perspective of being related to someone with special needs.  I never realized before reading this book how much it must hurt families to have to see the stares or pitied looks of those around them.  This book also gave me a new perspective for the abilities of non-verbal students.  I am ashamed to admit that I never really imagined being close friends with someone who was non-verbal.  Catherine’s story really helped me to see that my view of students with special needs is very small and that I need to be willing to open up to all that they have to offer.

            I honestly could not put this book down once I began reading.  I think that reading the entire book in one day helped me to stay enthralled and engaged in the story line.  Being able to sit outside on such a beautiful warm day helped me to relax and to fully engage in the story.  I fear that if I had read this book in a hurry, or in the midst of a busy time at school, I would have missed the full impact the story had.

            I realized that children’s literature can be a very informative tool for learning about different children’s personalities and struggles.  Literature can truly be used to create empathy within oneself for someone else’s situation.  I would like to use literature in my classroom more often to teach my students about the cultures of others.  Most of the students at my school are extremely sheltered and don’t realize how blessed they are.  I think reading more literature that expands upon the hardships of others may help to open the eyes of my students to the world around them.

"Mr. Popper's Penguins" --Movie and Book Comparison

            I recently read the book “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” by Richard and Florence Atwater.  I enjoyed the humorous and heart warming story of Mr. Popper taking care of all of the penguins!  I loved that the penguins became an entertaining act and then were taken with Mr. Popper and the Admiral to the North Pole.  It was such a sweet and endearing story.  Much to my surprise, I was disappointed that the movie was barely anything like the book.

            In the movie, Mr. Popper is a real estate agent of some sort.  He seems to be incredibly wealthy by his living conditions.  In the book, Mr. Popper paints houses and seems to have just enough for he and his wife and kids to survive.  In the movie, Mr. Popper is also separated from his wife and only gets to see his kids every other weekend.  In the book, Mr. Popper, Mrs. Popper and their children are together almost constantly. 

            A big twist that the movie placed on the story is that Mr. Popper’s dad sent him the penguin as part of his will.  In the book, Mr. Popper received the penguin from the Admiral.  Mr. Popper names all of the penguins in the book after famous explorers, whereas in the movie, Mr. Popper seems to name the penguins in a similar manner to the seven dwarfs. 

            The penguins in the movie did learn a few tricks from Mr. Popper, but they did not travel and perform for audiences as they did in the book.  I won’t lie, I was actually a little excited about seeing the penguins perform in the ways that the book described.  I was disappointed when the book changed the penguins to being more of a tool of entertainment just for the Popper family.

            In the end of both the movie and the book, Mr. Popper takes the penguins to their natural habitat.  In the book, Mr. Popper goes with the admiral to take the penguins to the North Pole.  They were trying to start a new breed of penguins that would inhabit the North Pole.  In the movie, Mr. Popper and his entire family take the penguins back to where they originally came from.  They watch the penguins reunite with their families and claim that they will be back to visit. 

            I enjoyed the movie, but I was very disappointed with how different it was from the book.  It seemed to me as if they took the modern spin on the book a little bit too far.  In my opinion, they should have stuck closely with the original text.  In my mind, Mr. Popper’s Penguins is a classic tale that I grew up with and it was sad to me that the producers decided to diverge from the story in such large ways.