The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The Caldecott and Newbery Medals are considered the most prestigious American children's book awards. Beside the Caldecott Medal, the committee awards a variable number of citations to runners-up they deem worthy, called the Caldecott Honor or Caldecott Honor Books.
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, video games and films. An illustration is typically created by an illustrator. Digital illustrations are often used to make websites and apps more user-friendly, such as the use of emojis to accompany digital type. Illustration also means providing an example; either in writing or in picture form.
Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot is a series of children's graphic novels written by Dav Pilkey and first seven books illustrated by Martin Ontiveros and all nine books, including two long-awaited sequels, illustrated by Dan Santat. In each book, Ricky Ricotta, a mouse, with the help of his mighty robot, saves the world from an evil villain. Also, the books each have an alien animal from a different planet in order from closest-to-sun to farthest-from-sun including Earth, as the villain of the first book is from Earth. The reader could see the villains being jailed in each series and later notice the familiar villains from previous books.
Philip Dey Eastman was an American screenwriter, children's author, and illustrator.
Eyvind Earle was an American artist, author and illustrator, noted for his contribution to the background illustration and styling of Disney's animated films in the 1950s. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rahr West Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum and Arizona State University Art Museum have purchased Earle's works for their permanent collections. His works have also been shown in many one-man exhibitions throughout the world.
David Macaulay is a British-born American illustrator and writer. His works include Cathedral (1973), The Way Things Work (1988), and its updated revisions The New Way Things Work (1998) and The Way Things Work Now (2016). His illustrations have been featured in nonfiction books combining text and illustrations explaining architecture, design, and engineering, and he has written a number of children's fiction books.
Robert Lawson was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He won the Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in They Were Strong and Good in 1941 and the Newbery award for his short story for Rabbit Hill in 1945.
Arnold Stark Lobel was an American author of children's books, including the Frog and Toad series and Mouse Soup. He wrote and illustrated these picture books as well as Fables, a 1981 Caldecott Medal winner for best-illustrated U.S. picture book. Lobel also illustrated books by other writers, including Sam the Minuteman by Nathaniel Benchley.
Lane Smith is an American illustrator and writer of children's books. He is the Kate Greenaway medalist (2017) known for his eclectic visuals and subject matter, both humorous and earnest, such as the contemplative Grandpa Green, which received a Caldecott Honor in 2012, and the outlandish Stinky Cheese Man, which received a Caldecott Honor in 1992.
Bernhard August "Hardie" Gramatky, Jr. was an American painter, writer, animator, and illustrator. In a 2006 article in Watercolor Magazine, Andrew Wyeth named him as one of America's 20 greatest watercolorists. He wrote and illustrated several children's books, most notably Little Toot.
Dan Yaccarino is an American author, illustrator, and television producer, who is known for his animated series, children's books and award-winning imagery. Yaccarino created the Nick Jr. preschool series Oswald.
Michael Allen Austin is an American illustrator, best known for his work in children’s books. Among the titles he has illustrated are Cowpoke Clyde and Dirty Dawg, written by Lori Mortensen; The Horned Toad Prince, written by Jackie Mims Hopkins; and Railroad John and the Red Rock Run, written by Tony Crunk. His illustrations have also appeared in magazines, such as Highlights for Children, Spider and Cricket, as well as galleries and museums throughout the United States.
Marla Frazee is an American author and illustrator of children's literature. She has received three Caldecott Honors for picture book illustration.
Christopher John Rocco, simply known as John Rocco is an American illustrator of book covers and children's books. He is best known for illustrating the covers of books in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. He is the sole creator of some children's picture books.
Mac Barnett is an American writer of children's books living in Oakland, California. He was born in Castro Valley, California but grew up in Castro Valley and Oakland.
Suddhasattwa Basu is an Indian author, painter, illustrator, and animator. Born in West Bengal, he spent his childhood in a small town named Chandannagar, West Bengal. Basu studied fine arts at the Government College of Art & Craft in Kolkata. He began his career as an illustrator and designer for the children's magazine Target. He has illustrated several children's books. The Song of a Scarecrow (2002) written and illustrated by him received the Chitrakatha award, and a special mention at the Biennial of Illustration, Bratislava, Slovakia in 2003. He has conceptualised and illustrated many titles for the National Book Trust, such as Whatever you give and Ravan's Remedy, for preschool children. Basu's works include his nature illustrations for Khushwant Singh's Nature Watch, Delhi Through the Seasons and his work in Ka: The Story of Garuda (2004), by Roberto Calasso, retold by Geeta Dharmarajan. Basu designed, directed and animated India's first indigenously made animation television serial for children Ghayab Aya. It was made in ten parts and first telecast on Doordarshan in July 1990. Suddhasattwa Basu works and lives in New Delhi, India.
Melissa Sweet is an American illustrator and writer of nearly 100 books for children and young readers.
The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend is a 2014 picture book by Dan Santat. The book won the 2015 Caldecott Award and tells the story of an imaginary friend in search of a child. This is the third book Santat has written, following The Guild of Geniuses (2004) and Sidekicks (2011), and his second picture book.
A First Time for Everything is a 2023 middle-grade graphic memoir written and illustrated by American author Dan Santat. It won the 2023 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
Doug Salati is an American author and illustrator of children's picture books. Doug Salati is the creator of the picture book Hot Dog, a New York Times bestseller and recipient of the 2023 Randolph Caldecott Medal and Ezra Jack Keats Award.
