New-Found Appreciation for Randolph Caldecott

I am delighting in a recent book purchase: Caldecott & Co., by Maurice Sendak (a Caldecott Medal winner himself in 1970).  The book, consisting of essays written about several authors and illustrators that Sendak admired, as well as autobiographical essays and interviews by Sendak, is an opinionated, yet thoughtful, observation of some of The Best of what is out there for children.

To be completely honest, I've sometimes wondered if the "Caldecott Medal" was a bit over-hyped - I mean, really, can you judge art?  But in reading Mr. Sendak's chapter about Randolph Caldecott, I've gained a new appreciation for Caldecott himself and a better understanding of the importance of the standard set by this "Father of the Modern Picture Book" and how that standard should be upheld and lauded in the world of children's picture books.

From The Diverting History of John Gilpin: Showing how he went farther than he
intended, and came home safe again. (1878)
(The illustration on the Caldecott Medal is taken from this book)

Sendak gives a wonderful explanation about what Randolph Caldecott brought to children's books in his opening paragraph about him:

Caldecott's work heralds the beginning of the modern picture book.  He devised an ingenious juxtaposition of picture and word, a counterpoint that never happened before.  Words are left out -- but the picture says it.  Pictures are left out -- but the word says it.  In short, it is the invention of the picture book.

Mr. Sendak goes on to describe in detail the talent and humor of Caldecott's books, something I had really not given full attention to in my own observations of his work!  He sites Caldecott's "rhythmic syncopation of words and images", saying "the characters leap across the page..." and revealing "Caldecott is an illustrator, he is a songwriter, he is a choreographer, he is a stage manager, he is a decorator, he is a theatre person: he's superb, simply."

One of my favorite Caldecott works is one that I've featured before, here: The Milkmaid.  Be sure and notice all that is going on in his amazing illustrations. Below are some more favorite Nursery rhymes...

Cover Art - go here to see all the book's illustrations

Hey Diddle Diddle and Baby Bunting (which Maurice Sendak describes in delightful detail!)
Go here for all the illustrations on Project Gutenberg.

"And the dish ran away with the spoon..." from Hey Diddle Diddle

Cover illustration for Randolph Caldecott's Sing a Song of Sixpence (1880) ,  public domain.

Thank you, Mr. Caldecott the sense of movement, humor, and vitality you brought to children's books!

source

In the United States, receiving the Randolph Caldecott Medal is the highest honor an artist can achieve for children’s book illustration. Established in 1937, this medal is given to the artist who has created the most distinguished picture book of the previous year. It accompanies the prestigious Newbery Medal which is awarded for the most distinguished American children’s book published the previous year. 

The Randolph Caldecott Medal is awarded by the American Library Association and was named in honor of the nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph J. Caldecott. Caldecott’s illustrations for children were unique to their time in both their humor and in their ability to create a sense of movement, vitality, and action that complemented the stories they accompanied. 

The Randolph Caldecott Medal itself captures that vitality. Rene’ Paul Chambellan designed the medal in 1937, inspired by one of Caldecott’s illustrations for “The Diverting Story of John Gilpin,” showing John Gilpin astride a runaway horse, scattering squawking geese, chased by yelping dogs, and waved at by startled onlookers. Significantly, the recipient of the Randolph Caldecott Medal is memorialized on the reverse of the medal with engraved name and date of award.

Lots Going on in the Caldecott World

English painter and book illustrator Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886),
for whom the award is named [source: NPR]

This year, the Caldecott Medal turns 75!  Some children's book illustrators might not have gotten a lot of sleep over the weekend. That's because they might have been wondering if this could be the year they win one of the grand prizes of children's literature: the Randolph Caldecott Medal... more here, from NPR.

This morning, this year's winner was announced:  John Klassen for This is Not My Hat...

It's a really nicely illustrated book, but I honestly thought Klassen's other book Extra Yarn, by Mac Barnett, would win (and I like the story better)!  

I have not reviewed This is Not My Hat, but you can Read Roger Sutton's thoughts here at the NY Times. He notes:
A plucky little fish has stolen a dapper little hat from a sleeping big fish. The fish is upfront with us about its theft (“This hat is not mine; I just stole it”), and prattles on about just why he is going to get away with the hat and the crime (“And even if he does notice that it’s gone, he probably won’t know it was me who took it”). Meanwhile, the pictures show the big fish waking up and methodically, inexorably hunting the little fish down until they are both deep in the weeds, from which the big fish emerges alone. Only God knows what happened, but the big fish has recouped his hat. 

As was true with “I Want My Hat Back,” in which a rabbit and a bear provide the dialectic, the ethical position in “This Is Not My Hat” is complicated. Don’t steal, obviously. But given that children’s literature champions the small and the weak, there is also this: Don’t get caught. Depending on where you are on the political spectrum, “This Is Not My Hat” could be a cautionary tale of either righteous class struggle or uppity proletarians. The decision to separate the action in the cool black, gray and green under­water noir pictures from the postulates of the text (“And even if he does guess it was me, he won’t know where I am going”) means that not all picture-book audiences will be old enough to thoroughly get it. I read the book to a 3-year-old, but it was too deep for him; when I watched a 6-year-old and her father read it together, they were appropriately and gleefully scandalized.
  

If you didn't read my review of Extra Yarn, you can find my post here. I love the message of this sweet story:
Jon Klassen's understated style matches this quirky, sweetly told tale. At the very beginning, we're told: "This looks like an ordinary box full of ordinary yarn.  But it turns out it isn't."  A girl named Annabelle come across the box "filled with yarn of every color" on a cold winter day in her cold, drab town.  With the seemingly endless supply of yarn, she makes rainbow colored knitted creations for everyone (and everything) in the town - even the mailboxes and buildings. 

A pompous and greedy archduke appears on the scene and tries to buy the box from Annabelle, who's not interested in selling it for anything.  He manages to have it stolen, only to find it empty. In a satisfying ending, we realize the box wants to be with someone who is generous in sharing any "extra" with others!

I honestly think all the candidates for the medal are amazing picture books - it's such a personal taste thing, in my opinion, and hard to pick a winner - which is why I don't follow this stuff real closely.  (To see all the contenders, click here). Have you read both Klassen books?  What do you think?

ARE YOU READY FOR FALL?

"Autumn has caught us in our summer wear." 
- Philip Larkin, British poet (1922-1986)

Here in sunny Southern California, there are not yet many signs of the coming fall, but I have seen a growing number of black crows, getting ready for the pecans to fall from my backyard neighbor's huge tree.  And of course, Halloween merchandise is showing up everywhere.

Cover illustration for by Randolph Caldecott's Sing a Song for Sixpence (1880) - public domain.

This Saturday, September 22, marks the First Day of Autumn.  I noticed this shocking fact when I opened my pocket datebook yesterday, with the approaching equinox staring me in the face (equinox comes from the Latin words for "equal night." The fall and spring equinoxes are the only days of the year in which the Sun crosses the celestial equator.)

When our kids were growing up, we liked to celebrate fall and fun on Halloween, without too much fright.  I've heard many families express the same desire, so I'm constantly on the look-out for fun versus frightening Halloween ideas for my blog (click HERE to see some of my past pumpkin posts).  This year, I'm really liking black birds, versus bats (stay tuned for a fun party idea coming up in October!)

Birds on a wire? Find these cute paper clips HERE.
(Comes with 8 blackbird clips on a 36" cord)

Here's a cute product I recently came across...a teacher used it on a bulletin board with fun photos, literary quotes, and fall poetry.

Reminds me of the well-known English nursery rhyme, Sing A Song Of Sixpence:

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty blackbirds,
Baked in a pie.

My book recommendation for today?  A "haunting" quirky fable about crows and a snake:
The Crows of Pearblossom, by Aldous Huxley (yes, the author of Brave New World wrote a children's book)...how two silly crows - with the help of a wise owl - solve the problem of a hungry snake devouring their eggs is a tale of cleverness triumphing over greed.

Born in England and educated at Balliol College, Huxley relocated to Southern California with his family in 1937.  He wrote The Crows of Pearblossom for his niece, Olivia, in 1944 as a Christmas gift.  In 1967 it was published in a small-format edition (now out of print), illustrated by Barbara Cooney.

I ordered the new 2011 edition because I couldn't resist Sophie Blackall's wonderful illustrations!  Read a great overview/history of this picture book, HERE, and the NYTimes review "Aldous Huxley's Brave New Storybook", HERE.