If you look at my article listing All Caldecott Medal winners over the past more than 75 years, you'll see a list of picture books with outstanding illustrations. Winning a Caldecott Medal for children's picture book illustration is not only an important achievement, it also almost guarantees that the winners will remain in print for many years. In addition to the 2014 Caldecott Medal winner, three picture books were selected as 2014 Caldecott Honor Books.
The 2014 Randolph Caldecott Medal Winner: Brian Floca for Locomotive
Brian Floca, illustrator (and author) of Locomotive, is the 2014 Randolph Caldecott Medal winner.
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, is the publisher of Locomotive. The ISBN for the picture book is 9781416994152.
Locomotive was also named a 2014 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Honor Book. The book was also recognized as a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of 2013 and
a 2013 Parents' Choice Award Winner for Picture Books. This illustrated account of a family's 1869 trip across the country on the first transcontinental railroad line is fascinatingand one I recommend for ages 6 to 12, as well as many adults. I included Locomotive on my personal Top 10 list of the Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2013.
The 2014 Caldecott Honor Books
Three picture books published in 2013 were named 2014 Caldecott Honor Books. The three winners both wrote and illustrated their books.
- Journey by Aaron Becker. The publisher is Candlewick Press. The ISBN is 9780763660536. This book is also on my personal Top 10 list. I am a big fan of wordless picture books and this story of the power of imagination is a particularly good one. Not only can the book be enjoyed by younger children again and again as they "read" the pictures and tell you what's happening, but it can also serve as a writing prompt for older children to write their own interpretations of the story the author is telling through his illustrations.
- Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle. Chronicle Books is the publisher. The ISBN is 9781452110066. This is a delightful interactive picture book with flaps that, with a limited, mostly pink, color palette and plain background, tells the story of a special dance starring a graceful flamingo and a little girl named Flora. I recommend Flora and the Flamingo for ages 3 and up. To see how the illustrations and the interactive flaps tell the story and demonstrate that "Friendship is a beautiful dance," watch the Flora and the Flamingo demonstration video,
- Mr. Wuffles! by David Wiesner. Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing is the publisher. The ISBN is 9780618756612. The story of a cat and a spaceship full of aliens who speak in a code the reader can't decipher is another unique book by Wiesner, a multiple Caldecott award winner. David Wiesner previously won Randolph Caldecott Medals for his books Tuesday,The Three Pigs, and Flotsam (read the review of Flotsam). Except for a few sentences that frame the story, this is mostly a wordless picture book since we can't read the aliens' words. If this sounds confusing, watch David Wiesner's video about Mr. Wuffles! to learn about how he views the book and where he got the ideas for the book.