A Caldecott Celebration: Seven Artists and Their Paths to the Caldecott Medal
Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH -- School Library Journal, 4/28/2008
From SLJ April 2008
MARCUS, Leonard S. A Caldecott Celebration: Seven Artists and Their Paths to the Caldecott Medal. 56p. illus. photos. reprods. chron. glossary. index. CIP. Walker. 2008. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-0-8027-9703-2; RTE $20.85. ISBN 978-0-8027-9704-9. LC 2007023132.
Gr 4 Up–Marcus has updated his 1998 introduction to six medalists to include a six-page chapter featuring Mordecai Gerstein’s creation of The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (Millbrook, 2003). Written as the author/illustrator’s response to the 2001 destruction by terrorists of New York’s World Trade Center buildings, Gerstein’s book is a well-chosen representative of the winners of the past 10 years. Other changes in this new edition include a two-page preface, an extended "Index of Proper Nouns," and an updated list of Caldecott Medal winners (through 2007). Illustrations include preliminary drawings and photos of authors, book covers, and related items and places. The value of this volume is that Marcus makes these exceptional author/illustrators, and the processes by which they created their award-winning picture books, accessible to children and to adults who value children’s literature. His insights–derived from interviewing each of the artists–allow readers to become sideline participants in the creative processes that resulted in the characters and stories that we have come to love. Teachers, librarians, and parents will find a source of inspiration here.
