Randolph Caldecott Award Winning and Honored Books
The Caldecott Medal, established in 1938, was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. Learn more about this award at Caldecott Medal Home Page.
Below are the Caldecott Medla winning and Honor books awarded to Black illustrators or illustrators of books featuring Black characters. In 2024, Vashti Harrison became the first Black woman to win a Caldecott Medal (read more ▶).
One Book Recieved The Caldecott Award or Honor in 1993
Honor Book – Faith Ringgold
Tar Beach
by Faith Ringgold, Illustrated by Faith Ringgold
- A Top 10 Book in the “Children’s from the 20th Century” Category
- A Top 150 Children’s Book
- Coretta Scott King Award Winning Book 1992
- Caldecott Medal Winner or Honor
- Ezra Jack Keats Award Winning, or Honored, Book
Publication Date: Dec 03, 1996
List Price: $8.99
Format: Paperback, 32 pages
Classification: Fiction
Target Age Group: Picture Book
ISBN13: 9780517885444
Imprint: Dragonfly Books
Publisher: Dragonfly Books
Parent Company: Dragonfly Books
Read a Description of Tar Beach
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold broke new ground because the book was adapted from the textile/quilt. She incorporated African American/Native American building history and made the city seem magical with Black children flying over landmarks.—Zetta Elliott, PhD
I will always remember
when the stars fell down around me
and lifted me up above
the George Washington Bridge.
Cassie Louise Lightfoot, eight years old in 1939, has a dream: to be free to go wherever she wants for the rest of her life. One night, up on “tar beach” —the rooftop of her family’s Harlem apartment building—her dream comes true. The stars lift her up, and she flies over the city. She claims the buildings as her own—even the union building, so her father won’t have to worry anymore about not being allowed to join just because his father was not a member. As Cassie learns, anyone can fly. “All you need is somewhere to go you can’t get to any other way. The next thing you know, you‘re flying above the stars.”
This magical story resonates with a universal wish. Originally written by Faith Ringgold for her story quilt of the same name, Tar Beach is a seamless weaving of fiction, autobiography, and African-American history and literature. Originally publishing in 1991 by Crown Publishers, New York.