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 ▶).


2 Books Recieved Caldecott Award or Honor in 2021

Honor Book – Noa Denmon

A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart
by Zetta Elliott, Illustrated by Noa Denmon

Publication Date: Jul 21, 2020
List Price: $17.99
Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
Classification: Poetry
Target Age Group: Picture Book
ISBN13: 9780374307417
Imprint: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Younger Readers
Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
Parent Company: Holtzbrinck Publishing Group

Read a Description of A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart


Book Description: 
  • Today Show Best Book for the Holidays
  • NCTE Notable Poetry Book
  • Evanston Public Library’s Top 100 Great Book for Kids
  • Nerdy Award Winner for Single Poem Picture Book

In this powerful, affirming poem by award-winning author Zetta Elliott, a Black child explores his shifting emotions throughout the year.

There is a place inside of me
a space deep down inside of me
where all my feelings hide.

Summertime is filled with joy—skateboarding and playing basketball —until his community is deeply wounded by a police shooting. As fall turns to winter and then spring, fear grows into anger, then pride and peace.

In her stunning debut, illustrator Noa Denmon articulates the depth and nuances of a child’s experiences following a police shooting—through grief and protests, healing and community—with washes of color as vibrant as his words.

Here is a groundbreaking narrative that can help all readers—children and adults alike—talk about the feelings hiding deep inside each of us.


Honor Book – Cozbi A. Cabrera

Me & Mama
by Cozbi A. Cabrera, Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera

Publication Date: Aug 25, 2020
List Price: $17.99
Format: Hardcover, 40 pages
Classification: Fiction
Target Age Group: Picture Book
ISBN13: 9781534454217
Imprint: Denene Millner Books
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Parent Company: KKR & Co. Inc.

Read a Description of Me & Mama


Book Description: 
Mama’s love is brighter than the sun, even on the rainiest of days. This celebration of a mother-daughter relationship is perfect for sharing with little ones!

On a rainy day when the house smells like cinnamon and Papa and Luca are still asleep, when the clouds are wearing shadows and the wind paints the window with beads of water, I want to be everywhere Mama is.

With lyrical prose and a tender touch, Mama and Me is an ode to the strength of the bond between a mother and a daughter as they spend a rainy day together.