Caldecott Awards
The prestigious Caldecott Award is given each year to the artist of the best U.S. children's picture book for children. The Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, began awarding Caldecotts in 1937. It is always given to the artist of the book, regardless of whether the illustrator also wrote the text.
The Award is named after Randolph Caldecott an English illustrator in the 18th century. The illustration on the Caldecott medal was taken from one of Caldecott's illustrations in The Diverting Story of John Gilpin.
To be eligible for a Caldecott Medal, a book must be a picture book with original illustrations, the artists must be citizens of the United States, and it must have been published in the year preceding the award year.
The categories are Medal and Honor. A committee of the American Library Association considers all books that have been submitted to them and selects the best ones.
