cal·de·cott med·al
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. It was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. Together with the Newbery Medal, it is the most prestigious American children's book award.
Congratulations to Erin E. Stead, illustrator of A Sick Day for Amos McGee - the Caldecott Award Winner for 2011. Hooray! Miss Kelly and I recently visited The Brooklyn Public Library to meet Erin and her husband, Philip C. Stead, the author of Amos. If you haven't read the book yet borrow a copy from our Children's Room (it is now autographed!). It's the charming story of Amos, a sweet man who sleeps with his teddy bear, has awesome striped pajamas (Erin explained to us how she made those pajamas!) and works at the City Zoo. He takes wonderful care of all his animal friends and when he catches a cold they return his kindness by visiting him at home. Amos and his friends are a true example of compassion and lovingkindness for kids. And also for adults. :) Philip's outstanding writing of Amos earned him a place on the Charlotte Zolotow 2011 Honor Books list.
Check out the slideshow above to see Erin and Philip...here are some cool things they had to say:
Erin on winning the Caldecott - "I get about five seconds of an overwhelming feeling everyday." Erin is very modest about her artistic talent. She created the pictures in Amos with pencil and by using hand carved woodblocks to make prints. The process is very time consuming and hard work. Artists often second guess themselves - I do it with my drawings that you see hanging on the Children's Room walls and my photography that you see here on the blog - but Erin's work is amazingly serene and makes the reader - and listener - instantly fall in love with the characters. Watch a video of her woodblock process here and you may visit her blog here.
Philip on libraries and kids - "You can't give yourself an education without a library card." He also said "Children have amazing visual literacy skills until we tell them not to." We agree! I think Philip would like our Early Literacy Collection and programs which focus on creativity, art and play, play, play! Where else does Philip like to look for books besides the library? Kaleidoscope Books in Ann Arbor, Michigan (where he lives with Erin, in a barn, with lots of neat antique things, and a cute wirey dog named Wednesday McGee). This quaint book store specializes in vintage children's books.
Erin and Philip are still hard at work. Look for some new books (from Erin - And Then There's Spring and Philip - Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat) soon! Also look for Creamed Tuna Fish & Peas On Toast by Philip. You will love Philip's collage illustrations, he rips the paper by hand! Watch the book trailer for Jonathan and the Big Blue Boat here and countdown to when it sets sail on Philip's blog here.
What do they like to do when they aren't working? Erin bakes and Philip makes music (he made the music in the Jonathan book trailer) and they both spend some quality time with Wednesday. Miss Kelly and I think they'd be cool to hang out with. Maybe they'll come visit our Children's Room one day...
Thanks to The Brooklyn Public Library for hosting this event. Take a trip there to see for yourselves what an incredible library it is. The Children's Library even has it's own beautiful entrance! While you are there make sure you walk through the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to smell the flowers and investigate the works of art in the Brooklyn Museum. Wait a minute...this sounds like an awesome plan for a future No Child Left Inside Program! We'll see!
