Randolph Caldecott Award Winning and Honored Books

The Caldecott Medal

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 ▶).


3 Books Recieved Caldecott Award or Honor in 2020

Medal Winner – Kadir Nelson

Book Description: 
The Newbery Award-winning author of THE CROSSOVER pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time Caldecott Honoree.
Originally performed for ESPN’s The Undefeated, this poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world’s greatest heroes. The text is also peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others, offering deeper insights into the accomplishments of the past, while bringing stark attention to the endurance and spirit of those surviving and thriving in the present.


Honor Book – Rudy Gutierrez

Double Bass Blues
by Andrea J. Loney, Illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez

Publication Date: Oct 22, 2019
List Price: $17.99
Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
Classification: Fiction
Target Age Group: Picture Book
ISBN13: 9781524718527
Imprint: Alfred A. Knopf
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Parent Company: Bertelsmann

Read a Description of Double Bass Blues


Book Description: 
Andrea J. Loney grew up in New Jersey with a love for music—in her school band she played the xylophone. After receiving an MFA from New York University, she joined a circus, then moved to Hollywood to write for film and television. Her previous picture books include the New Voices Award-winning biography Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee! and Bunnybear. Currently a computer science instructor at a community college, Andrea lives with her family and their pets in a Los Angeles home filled with music … and picture books. Learn more at andreajloney.com or on Twitter at @AndreaJLoney.

Rudy Gutierrez is an award-winning illustrator whose works have earned him a Pura Belpre Honor, an Americas Award, a Children’s Africana Book Award, and a New York Book Award. A Bronx native, he now lives in New Jersey and teaches illustration at the Pratt Institute. In 2002, he was commissioned to create the cover for Santana’s multi-platinum album Shaman, and his art hangs in the private collections of musical icons Carlos Santana, Clive Davis, and Wayne Shorter, among others. Learn more at rudygutierrez.net or on Twitter at @Rudy_Gutierrez_art.

Honor Book – Daniel Minter

Going Down Home with Daddy
by Kelly Starling Lyons, Illustrated by Daniel Minter

Publication Date: Apr 01, 2019
List Price: $17.99
Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
Classification: Fiction
Target Age Group: Picture Book
ISBN13: 9781561459384
Imprint: Peachtree Publishers
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Parent Company: Peachtree Publishers

Read a Description of Going Down Home with Daddy


Book Description: 

“On reunion morning, we rise before the sun. Daddy hums as he packs our car with suitcases and a cooler full of snacks. He says there’s nothing like going down home.”

Sample Image from Going Down Home with Daddy Illustrated by Daniel Minter From Going Down Home with Daddy by Kelly Starling Lyons, Illustrated by Daniel Minter (2019, Peachtree Publishers)

Down home is Granny’s house. Down home is where Lil’ Alan and his parents and sister will join great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Down home is where Lil’ Alan will hear stories of the ancestors and visit the land that has meant so much to all of them. And down home is where all of the children will find their special way to pay tribute to family history. All the kids have to decide on what tribute to share, but what will Lil’ Alan do?

In this rich and moving celebration of history, culture, and ritual, Kelly Starling Lyons’ eloquent text explores the power of family traditions. Stunning illustrations by Coretta Scott King Honor-winner Daniel Minter reveal the motion and connections in a large, multigenerational family.