While the covers of all Caldecott winners bear the famous gold medal, some make better birthday and holiday gifts than others.
There are indeed plenty of fantastic children’s books among the Caldecott medal winners, including our personal favorites:
- Officer Buckle & Gloria (1996)
- Ox-Cart Man (1980)
- May I Bring A Friend (1965)
- Where The Wild Things Are (1964)
- The Snowy Day (1963)
Our advice? Choose wisely because you (or your gift recipient) are going to be reading whichever children’s books you buy over and over again! Now that we’ve established that not all Caldecott winners are created equal, let’s get to the list.
Quick Jumps: 2010 | 2000 | 1990 | 1980 | 1970 | 1960 | 1950 | 1940
Amazon Buying Shortcuts: Our 10 Favorites | All 82 Caldecott Winners
Caldecott Winners: The Complete List!
Hello Lighthouse (2019)
Wolf in the Snow (2018)
Radiant Child (2017)
Finding Winnie (2016)
The Adventures of Beekle (2015)
Locomotive (2014)
This Is Not My Hat (2013)
A Ball for Daisy (2012)
A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011)
The Lion & the Mouse (2010)
The House in the Night (2009)
The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2008)
Flotsam (2007)
The Hello, Goodbye Window (2006)
Kitten’s First Full Moon (2005)
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (2004)
My Friend Rabbit (2003)
The Three Pigs (2002)
So You Want to Be President? (2001)
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (2000)
Snowflake Bentley (1999)
Rapunzel (1998)
Golem (1997)
Officer Buckle and Gloria (1996)
Smoky Night (1995)
by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by David Diaz
Grandfather’s Journey (1994)
by Walter Lorraine, Illustrated by Allen Say
Mirette on the High Wire (1993)
by Emily Arnold McCully
Tuesday (1992)
by David Wiesner
Black and White (1991)
by David Macaulay
Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China (1990)
by Ed Young
Song and Dance Man (1989)
by Karen Ackerman, Illustrated by Stephen Gammell
Owl Moon (1988)
by Jane Yolen, Illustrated by John Schoenherr
Hey, Al (1987)
by Arthur Yorinks, Illustrated by Richard Egielski
The Polar Express (1986)
by Chris Van Allsburg
Saint George and the Dragon (1985)
by Margaret Hodges, Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot (1984)
by Alice & Martin Provensen
Shadow (1983)
by Blaise Cendrars, Translated and illustrated by Marcia Brown
Jumanji (1982)
by Chris Van Allsburg
Fables (1981)
by Arnold Lobel
Ox-Cart Man (1980)
by Donald Hall, Illustrated by Barbara Cooney
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses (1979)
by Paul Goble
Noah’s Ark (1978)
by Peter Spier
Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions (1977)
by Margaret Musgrove, Illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears (1976)
by Verna Aardema, Illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon
Arrow to the Sun (1975)
by Gerald McDermott
Duffy and the Devil (1974)
by Harve Zemach, Illustrated by Margot Zemach
The Funny Little Woman (1973)
by Arlene Mosel, Illustrated by Blair Lent
One Fine Day (1972)
by Nonny Hogrogian
A Story A Story (1971)
by Gail E. Haley
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (1970)
by William Steig
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (1969)
by Arthur Ransome, Illustrated by Uri Shulevitz
Drummer Hoff (1968)
by Barbara Emberley, Illustrated by Ed Emberley
Sam, Bangs & Moonshine (1967)
by Evaline Ness
Always Room for One More (1966)
by Sorche Nic Leodhas, Illustrated by Nonny Hogrogian
May I Bring a Friend? (1965)
by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, Illustrated by Beni Montresor
Where the Wild Things Are (1964)
by Maurice Sendak
The Snowy Day (1963)
by Ezra Jack Keats
Once a Mouse (1962)
by Marcia Brown
Baboushka and the Three Kings (1961)
by Ruth Robbins, Illustrated by Nicolas Sidjakov
Nine Days to Christmas (1960)
by Marie Hall Ets and Aurora Labastida
Chanticleer and the Fox (1959)adapted from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales by Barbara Cooney
Time of Wonder (1958)
by Robert McCloskey
A Tree Is Nice (1957)
by Janice Udry
Frog Went A-Courtin’ (1956)retold by John Langstaff, Illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky
Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper (1955)translated from Charles Perrault by Marcia Brown
Madeline’s Rescue (1954)by Ludwig Bemelmans
The Biggest Bear (1953)
by Lynd Ward
Finders Keepers (1952)
by William Lipkind, Illustrated by Nicholas Mordvinoff
The Egg Tree (1951)
by Katherine Milhous
Song of the Swallows (1950)
by Leo Politi
The Big Snow (1949)by Berta & Elmer Hader
White Snow, Bright Snow (1948)by Alvin Tresselt, Illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
The Little Island (1947)
by Margaret Wise Brown, Illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
The Rooster Crows (1946)
by Maud & Miska Petersham
Prayer for a Child (1945)
by Rachel Field, Illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones
Many Moons (1944) by James Thurber, Illustrated by Louis Slobodkin
The Little House (1943)
by Virginia Lee Burton
Make Way for Ducklings (1942)by Robert McCloskey
They Were Strong and Good (1941)
by Robert Lawson
Abraham Lincoln (1940)
by Ingri & Edgar Parin d’Aulaire
Mei Li (1939)
by Thomas Handforth
Animals of the Bible, A Picture Book (1938)text adapted by Helen Dean Fish, Illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop
That’s Our List of the Best Caldecott Winners
Check back soon to find the 2020 Caldecott Medal winner at the top!
