Archive Collection
Caldecott Medal Winners
1938–2026
The Caldecott Medal is the most prestigious award in American picture books, presented annually since 1938 by the American Library Association to the artist of the most distinguished illustrated book for children. Winners include classics from Robert McCloskey and Maurice Sendak to Chris Van Allsburg and David Wiesner.
About the Caldecott Medal
- Awarded by
- American Library Association
- First awarded
- 1938
- Country
- United States
- Winner receives
- A medal rather than money
When it is announced
Announced in January with the rest of the association's youth media awards. See the full announcement calendar.
How to enter
There is no entry. A committee of librarians considers picture books published in the United States during the previous year, and the medal goes to the illustrator.
Official prize site · Checked August 2026. Dates move year to year, so confirm on the official site before entering.
| Year | Title & Author | Historical Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Fireworks | The American Library Association gave Catia Chien the 2026 Caldecott Medal for Fireworks, written by Matthew Burgess, over four honor books: Every… |
| 2025 | Chooch Helped | The American Library Association gave Rebecca Lee Kunz the 2025 Caldecott Medal for Chooch Helped, written by Andrea L. Rogers, over four honor… |
| 2024 | Big | The American Library Association gave Vashti Harrison the 2024 Caldecott Medal for Big over four honor books: In Every Life, illustrated by Marla… |
| 2023 | Hot Dog | The American Library Association gave Doug Salati the 2023 Caldecott Medal for Hot Dog over four honor books: Ain't Burned All the Bright,… |
| 2022 | Watercress | The American Library Association gave Jason Chin the 2022 Caldecott Medal for Watercress, written by Andrea Wang, over four honor books: Have You… |
| 2021 | We Are Water Protectors | The American Library Association gave Michaela Goade the 2021 Caldecott Medal for We Are Water Protectors over four honor books: A Place Inside of… |
| 2020 | The Undefeated | The American Library Association gave Kadir Nelson the 2020 Caldecott Medal for The Undefeated over three honor books: Bear Came Along, illustrated… |
| 2019 | Hello Lighthouse | The American Library Association gave Sophie Blackall the 2019 Caldecott Medal for Hello Lighthouse over four honor books: Alma and How She Got Her… |
| 2018 | Wolf in the Snow | The American Library Association gave Matthew Cordell the 2018 Caldecott Medal for Wolf in the Snow over four honor books: Big Cat, Little Cat,… |
| 2017 | Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat | The American Library Association gave Javaka Steptoe the 2017 Caldecott Medal for Radiant Child over four honor books: Leave Me Alone!, illustrated… |
| 2016 | Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear | The American Library Association gave Sophie Blackall the 2016 Caldecott Medal for Finding Winnie over four honor books: Trombone Shorty, illustrated… |
| 2015 | The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend | The American Library Association gave Dan Santat the 2015 Caldecott Medal for The Adventures of Beekle over six honor books: Nana in the City by… |
| 2014 | Locomotive | The American Library Association gave Brian Floca the 2014 Caldecott Medal for Locomotive over three honor books: Journey, illustrated by Aaron… |
| 2013 | This Is Not My Hat | The American Library Association gave Jon Klassen the 2013 Caldecott Medal for This Is Not My Hat over five honor books: Creepy Carrots!, illustrated… |
| 2012 | A Ball for Daisy | The American Library Association gave Chris Raschka the 2012 Caldecott Medal for A Ball for Daisy over three honor books: Blackout, illustrated by… |
| 2011 | A Sick Day for Amos McGee | The American Library Association gave Erin E. Stead the 2011 Caldecott Medal for A Sick Day for Amos McGee, written by her husband Philip C. Stead,… |
| 2010 | The Lion & the Mouse | The American Library Association gave Jerry Pinkney the 2010 Caldecott Medal for The Lion and the Mouse over two honor books: All the World by Marla… |
| 2009 | The House in the Night | The American Library Association gave Beth Krommes the 2009 Caldecott Medal for The House in the Night, written by Susan Marie Swanson, over three… |
| 2008 | The Invention of Hugo Cabret | The American Library Association gave Brian Selznick the 2008 Caldecott Medal for The Invention of Hugo Cabret over four honor books: Henry's Freedom… |
| 2007 | Flotsam | The American Library Association gave David Wiesner the 2007 Caldecott Medal for Flotsam over two honor books: Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal… |
| 2006 | The Hello, Goodbye Window | The American Library Association gave Chris Raschka the 2006 Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in The Hello, Goodbye Window, written by Norton… |
| 2005 | Kitten's First Full Moon | The American Library Association gave Kevin Henkes the 2005 Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon over three honor books: The Red Book by… |
| 2004 | The Man Who Walked Between the Towers | The American Library Association gave Mordicai Gerstein the 2004 Caldecott Medal for The Man Who Walked Between the Towers over three honor books:… |
| 2003 | My Friend Rabbit | The American Library Association gave Eric Rohmann the 2003 Caldecott Medal for My Friend Rabbit over three honor books: The Spider and the Fly,… |
| 2002 | The Three Pigs | The American Library Association gave David Wiesner the 2002 Caldecott Medal for The Three Pigs over three honor books: The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse… |
| 2001 | So You Want to Be President? | So You Want to Be President? won the 2001 Caldecott Medal. The three Honor Books that year were Christopher Bing's Casey at the Bat, Betsy Lewin's… |
| 2000 | Joseph Had a Little Overcoat | Joseph Had a Little Overcoat won the 2000 Caldecott Medal. The four Honor Books that year were Trina Schart Hyman's A Child's Calendar, written by… |
| 1999 | Snowflake Bentley | Snowflake Bentley won the 1999 Caldecott Medal. The four Honor Books that year were Brian Pinkney's Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His… |
| 1998 | Rapunzel | Rapunzel won the 1998 Caldecott Medal. The three Honor Books that year were David Small's The Gardener, written by Sarah Stewart, Christopher Myers's… |
| 1997 | Golem | Golem won the 1997 Caldecott Medal. The four Honor Books that year were Holly Meade's Hush!: A Thai Lullaby, written by Minfong Ho, David Pelletier's… |
| 1996 | Officer Buckle and Gloria | Officer Buckle and Gloria won the 1996 Caldecott Medal. The four Honor Books that year were Stephen T. Johnson's Alphabet City, Marjorie Priceman's… |
| 1995 | Smoky Night | Smoky Night won the 1995 Caldecott Medal. The three Honor Books that year were Jerry Pinkney's John Henry, Paul O. Zelinsky's Swamp Angel, written by… |
| 1994 | Grandfather's Journey | Grandfather's Journey won the 1994 Caldecott Medal in a year with an unusually large field of five Honor Books: Ted Lewin's Peppe the Lamplighter,… |
| 1993 | Mirette on the High Wire | Mirette on the High Wire won the 1993 Caldecott Medal. The three Honor Books that year were Lane Smith's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly… |
| 1992 | Tuesday | Tuesday won the 1992 Caldecott Medal, the first of David Wiesner's three medals, later joined by The Three Pigs in 2002 and Flotsam in 2007, a record… |
| 1991 | Black and White | Black and White won the 1991 Caldecott Medal. The two Honor Books that year were Fred Marcellino's Puss in Boots and Vera B. Williams's "More More… |
| 1990 | Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China | Lon Po Po won the 1990 Caldecott Medal. The four Honor Books that year were Bill Peet's autobiography, Bill Peet: An Autobiography, Lois Ehlert's… |
| 1989 | Song and Dance Man | Song and Dance Man won the 1989 Caldecott Medal. The four Honor Books that year were Allen Say's The Boy of the Three Year Nap, David Wiesner's Free… |
| 1988 | Owl Moon | Owl Moon won the 1988 Caldecott Medal in a year with only a single Honor Book, John Steptoe's Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. The book has been… |
| 1987 | Hey, Al | Hey, Al won the 1987 Caldecott Medal. The three Honor Books that year were Ann Grifalconi's The Village of Round and Square Houses, Suse MacDonald's… |
| 1986 | The Polar Express | The Polar Express won the 1986 Caldecott Medal, Van Allsburg's second after Jumanji in 1982. The two Honor Books that year were Stephen Gammell's The… |
| 1985 | Saint George and the Dragon | Saint George and the Dragon won the 1985 Caldecott Medal. The three Honor Books that year were Paul O. Zelinsky's Hansel and Gretel, Nancy Tafuri's… |
| 1984 | The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot | The Glorious Flight won the 1984 Caldecott Medal. The two Honor Books that year were Trina Schart Hyman's own retelling of Little Red Riding Hood and… |
| 1983 | Shadow | Shadow won the 1983 Caldecott Medal, Marcia Brown's third after Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper in 1955 and Once a Mouse in 1962, a record at… |
| 1982 | Jumanji | Jumanji won the 1982 Caldecott Medal in an unusually strong field: the four Honor Books that year were Stephen Gammell's Where the Buffaloes Begin,… |
| 1981 | Fables | Fables won the 1981 Caldecott Medal, the year Ilse Plume's The Bremen Town Musicians, Molly Bang's The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher, Joseph… |
| 1980 | Ox-Cart Man | Ox-Cart Man won the 1980 Caldecott Medal, Barbara Cooney's second after Chanticleer and the Fox in 1959. The three Honor Books that year were Rachel… |
| 1979 | The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses | The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses won the 1979 Caldecott Medal, the year the two Honor Books were Donald Crews's Freight Train and Peter Parnall's The… |
| 1978 | Noah's Ark | Noah's Ark won the 1978 Caldecott Medal, the year the two Honor Books were David Macaulay's Castle and Margot Zemach's It Could Always Be Worse.… |
| 1977 | Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions | Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions, published by Dial in 1976, won the Dillons the 1977 Caldecott Medal, making them the only illustrators to win… |
| 1976 | Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears | Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, published by Dial in 1975, won the Dillons the 1976 Caldecott Medal, and Leo Dillon became the first Black… |
| 1975 | Arrow to the Sun | Arrow to the Sun, published by Viking in 1974, won McDermott the 1975 Caldecott Medal, following a Caldecott runner up finish two years earlier for… |
| 1974 | Duffy and the Devil | Duffy and the Devil, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 1973, won Margot Zemach the 1974 Caldecott Medal and was also a finalist that year for… |
| 1973 | The Funny Little Woman | The Funny Little Woman, published by Dutton in 1972, won Lent the 1973 Caldecott Medal. That year's Honor books were Gerald McDermott's Anansi the… |
| 1972 | One Fine Day | One Fine Day, published by Macmillan in 1971, won Hogrogian her second Caldecott Medal in 1972, five years after her first for Always Room for One… |
| 1971 | A Story a Story | A Story, A Story, published by Atheneum in 1970, won Haley the 1971 Caldecott Medal. That year's Honor books were Blair Lent's The Angry Moon, Arnold… |
| 1970 | Sylvester and the Magic Pebble | Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, published by Windmill Books and Simon & Schuster on September 24, 1969, won the 1970 Caldecott Medal, the only… |
| 1969 | The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship | The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, illustrated for this edition and published in 1968, won Shulevitz the 1969 Caldecott Medal. The committee… |
| 1968 | Drummer Hoff | Drummer Hoff, published by Prentice Hall in 1967, won Ed Emberley the 1968 Caldecott Medal. That year's Honor books were Leo Lionni's Frederick, Taro… |
| 1967 | Sam, Bangs & Moonshine | Sam, Bangs & Moonshine, published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston in 1966, won Ness the 1967 Caldecott Medal. The committee named a single Honor book,… |
| 1966 | Always Room for One More | Always Room for One More, published by Henry Holt in 1965, won the 1966 Caldecott Medal, the first of two Hogrogian would win; she took the medal… |
| 1965 | May I Bring a Friend? | May I Bring a Friend?, written by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers and published by Atheneum on September 8, 1964, won Montresor the 1965 Caldecott Medal,… |
| 1964 | Where the Wild Things Are | Where the Wild Things Are, published by Harper & Row on November 13, 1963, won the 1964 Caldecott Medal; the committee itself praised the Wild Things… |
| 1963 | The Snowy Day | The Snowy Day, published by Viking on November 5, 1962, won the 1963 Caldecott Medal, becoming the first Caldecott winning picture book with a Black… |
| 1962 | Once a Mouse | Once a Mouse won the 1962 Caldecott Medal for a book Brown published with Scribner in 1961. That year's Honor books were Peter Spier's The Fox Went… |
| 1961 | Baboushka and the Three Kings | Baboushka and the Three Kings won the 1961 Caldecott Medal for a book published in 1960 by Parnassus Press, a small publisher founded in Berkeley,… |
| 1960 | Nine Days to Christmas | Nine Days to Christmas, published by Viking in 1959, won the 1960 Caldecott Medal, awarded to Ets as illustrator; Aurora Labastida, a Mexican… |
| 1959 | Chanticleer and the Fox | Chanticleer and the Fox, published in 1958, won the 1959 Caldecott Medal for Cooney's illustrations and adaptation. That year's Honor books were… |
| 1958 | Time of Wonder | Time of Wonder, published by Viking in 1957, won the 1958 Caldecott Medal, McCloskey's second after Make Way for Ducklings had taken his first in… |
| 1957 | A Tree Is Nice | A Tree Is Nice won the 1957 Caldecott Medal for a book Harper and Brothers published in 1956. That year's runners up were Marie Hall Ets's Mr.… |
| 1956 | Frog Went A-Courtin' | Frog Went A-Courtin' won the 1956 Caldecott Medal for a book Harcourt, Brace published in 1955. That year's runners up were Marie Hall Ets's Play… |
| 1955 | Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper | Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper won the 1955 Caldecott Medal for a book Charles Scribner's Sons published in 1954. That year's runners up… |
| 1954 | Madeline's Rescue | Madeline's Rescue won the 1954 Caldecott Medal for a book Viking published in 1953. That year's runners up were Robert McCloskey's Journey Cake, Ho!,… |
| 1953 | The Biggest Bear | The Biggest Bear won the 1953 Caldecott Medal for a book Houghton Mifflin published in 1952. That year's runners up were Marcia Brown's Puss in… |
| 1952 | Finders Keepers | Finders Keepers won the 1952 Caldecott Medal for a book published in 1951, credited to Will and Nicolas, the joint name William Lipkind and Nicolas… |
| 1951 | The Egg Tree | The Egg Tree won the 1951 Caldecott Medal for a book Scribner published in 1950. That year's runners up were Marcia Brown's Dick Whittington and His… |
| 1950 | Song of the Swallows | Song of the Swallows won the 1950 Caldecott Medal for a book Scribner published in 1949. That year's runners up were Lynd Ward's America's Ethan… |
| 1949 | The Big Snow | The Big Snow won the 1949 Caldecott Medal for a book published in 1948. That year's runners up were Robert McCloskey's Blueberries for Sal, Helen… |
| 1948 | White Snow, Bright Snow | White Snow, Bright Snow won the 1948 Caldecott Medal for a book Lothrop published in 1947. That year's runners up were Marcia Brown's Stone Soup, Dr.… |
| 1947 | The Little Island | The Little Island won the 1947 Caldecott Medal for a book Doubleday published in 1946 under the byline Golden MacDonald, Margaret Wise Brown's pen… |
| 1946 | The Rooster Crows | The Rooster Crows won the 1946 Caldecott Medal for a book The Macmillan Company published in 1945. That year's runners up were Leonard Weisgard's… |
| 1945 | Prayer for a Child | Prayer for a Child won the 1945 Caldecott Medal for a book The Macmillan Company published in 1944. That year's runners up were Tasha Tudor's Mother… |
| 1944 | Many Moons | Louis Slobodkin won the 1944 Caldecott Medal for illustrating Many Moons, which was published by Harcourt, Brace in 1943 and was James Thurber's… |
| 1943 | The Little House | The Little House won the 1943 Caldecott Medal for a book Houghton Mifflin published in 1942. That year's runners up were Mary and Conrad Buff's Dash… |
| 1942 | Make Way for Ducklings | Make Way for Ducklings won the 1942 Caldecott Medal for a book Viking published in 1941. That year's runners up were Maud and Miska Petersham's An… |
| 1941 | They Were Strong and Good | They Were Strong and Good won the 1941 Caldecott Medal for a book Viking published in 1940. Its only runner up that year was Clare Turlay Newberry's… |
| 1940 | Abraham Lincoln | Abraham Lincoln, published in 1939, won the third Caldecott Medal in 1940. That year's runners up were Berta and Elmer Hader's Cock-a-Doodle Doo,… |
| 1939 | Mei Li | Thomas Handforth won the second Caldecott Medal in 1939 for Mei Li, published by Doubleday in 1938. That year's runners up were James Daugherty's… |
| 1938 | Animals of the Bible, A Picture Book | Animals of the Bible won the very first Caldecott Medal, given in 1938, the year the American Library Association's new award was first presented.… |