Literature Input Tables
Previous Studies - Caldecott Medal Winning Books
Previous Studies - Caldecott Medal Winning Books
Clark, R. (2007). From margin to  Findings: Female characters were highly visible during WW1 within
margin? Females and minorities
in Newbery and Caldecott medal-
winning and honor books for
children. International Journal of
Sociology of the Family, 33(2),
263-283.
Moffett, A.C. (2016). Exploring
racial diversity in Caldecott
Medal winning and honor books
(Master’s theses). San Jose State
University, California, CA. 4699.
Retrieved from
http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_t Useful for my study:
heses/4699.
Martinez, M. Koss, M. D., &
Johnson, N. J. (2016). Meeting
characters in Caldecotts: What
does this mean for today’s
readers? The Reading Teacher,
70(1), 19-28, DOI:
10.1002/trtr.1464.
Lear, L. (2015). Personality traits
of young characters in Caldecott
Award Winning picture books
from three time periods: 1950s,
1980s and 2000s (Doctoral
dissertation). Retrieved from
ProQuest Dissertations and
Theses database. (UNI No.
3706103).
 Dissertation - Doctor of
both Newbery and Caldecott books; become much more visible after
Weitzman et al.’s (1972) critique; declining visibility within the
Caldecott books since the late 1980s; increasing visibility within the
Newbery books since the late 1980s.
 Findings: Minoroty characters (particularly black characters)
increased visibility in Newbery and Caldecott books after Larrick’s
(1965) critique; reached a second peak in visibility during the 1990s;
slightly less visible in both Newbery and Caldecott books in the first
half decade of the 21st century.
 Objectives for this research included analysis of (a) how racial
diversity has been depicted in Caldecott winning and honor books,
both in the text and illustrations; (b) the racial diversity of the books’
illustrators and authors themselves; and (c) comparison of both to the
changing racial diversity in the United States.
 Quantitative analysis – uses primary, secondary and background
characters to identify role of characters.
Who are the characters children meet in contemporary Caldecott books?
How likely is it that these characters will reflect children’s lives and
experiences or move them beyond the world they know?
Useful for my study:
1. Looked at characters in Caldecott books over the last 25 years
because of the likelihood that these titles will make their way
into today’s classrooms.
2. Based on the belief that books with human characters are most
likely to serve as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors, the
researchers examined Caldecott books with human main
characters only.
3. Since some books had more than one main character, our
investigation included all the main characters in the 68 books for
a total of 83 human main characters.
4. Characterization consists of both internal and external facets.
Although both are critical, this investigation focused on
external character markers because these are the ones with
which young readers most readily identify.
Useful for my study:
 Mixed methods research design using content analysis to describe
the total personality of young characters in the picture books. The
study looked for changes in the personalities of young characters,
including changes related to the gender of the characters.
 The characters in picture books serve as models for young children.
Understanding of personalities of characters in picture books will
help in the selection and use of appropriate books for the
identification step in the process of bibliotherapy.
 Developmental Bibliotherapy – Developmental bibliotherapy is the
use of reading materials to help healthy individuals in their “normal

Previous Studies - Caldecott Medal Winning Books
Philosophy in Education
 Notre Dame of Maryland
University.
Crisp, T., & Hiller, B. (2011). “Is
this a boy or a girl?”: Rethinking
sex-role representation in
Caldecott Medal-Winning
picturebooks, 1938-2011.
Children’s Literature in
Education, 42, 196-212, DOI:
10.1007/s10583-011-9128-1.
Dyches, T., & Prater, M.A.
(2006). Portrayal of disabilities in
Caldecott books. TEACHING
Exceptional Children Plus, 2(5)
Article 2. Retrieved from
http://escholarship.bc.edu/educati
on/tecplus/vol12/iss5/art2.
Kaltenback, S.L. (2005).
Multicultural aspects of the
Caldecott and honor books.
Graduate College of Bowling
Green State University (Master’s
theses). Graduate College of
Bowling Green State University.
Retrieved from
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view
?acc_num=bgsu1120582732.
Spencer, A. F. & Nilges, L.M.
(2002). The pictorial
representation of gender and
physical activity level in
Caldecott Medal Winning
children’s literature (1940-1999):
A relational analysis of physical
culture. Sport, Education and
Society, 7(2), 135-150, DOI:
10.1080/1357332033000018832.
Literature Input Tables
growth and beneficial development” (Hynes & Hynes-Berry, 1986,
p.14). Developmental bibliotherapy is most likely used in an
educational setting.
 Parents, educators and librarians – careful choice of books
(consideration of messages conveyed/modeled to children required).
 A critical investigation of how gender is represented in Caldecott
Medal-winning literature from 1938 to 2011 by exploring the ways
in which ‘‘femininity’’ and ‘‘masculinity,’’ biological sex, and
gender are constructed in these texts.
 For each book, the researchers analyzed characterizations of those
with disabilities and generated tips for using the book to teach about
disabilities.
 Discusses 11 books with character who has a disability in it, analysis
of disability and offers teaching tips and key questions
Useful for my study:
1. Analyzed characterizations of characters with disabilities and
generated tips for using the book to teach about disabilities.
 Investigation that analyzed the representation of characters of
different races, ages, and disabilities in the illustrations of the
Caldecott Medal and Honor- winning books from 1975-2004.
Useful for my study:
1. Human characters only were considered (i.e. no inanimate
characters).
2. Illustrations were primarily considered, text was a secondary
focus.
Analysis of pictorial representation of physical activity and gender over
three time periods in Caldecott Medal winning children’s literature.
Useful for my study:
1. Considered differences in physical activity levels in male and
female characters.
2. Considered differences in physical activity levels of characters
in books across time periods (Given the increased attention that
has been paid to physical activity and women’s sport during the
later part of the twentieth century, has there been a change in
the frequency of representation by activity level and gender over
three time periods (1940–1959, 1960–1979, 1980–1999) in
Caldecott Medal books?).
3. Analyzed and frequency counts used.
 Literature Input Tables
Previous Studies - Caldecott Medal Winning Books

Not Caldecott Winning books but useful study (Methodoogy)

Golos, D. & Moses, A.M. (2011). In what ways and how frequently are deaf characters in children’s
Representations of deaf
characters in children’s picture
books. American Annals of the
Deaf, 156(3), 270-282.
picture books portrayed from a pathological perspective? In what ways
and how frequently are deaf characters in children’s picture books
portrayed from a cultural perspective?
Useful for my study:
1. Describes how children’s literature has the potential to strongly
affect children’s lives – source for children to acquire
information about their own culture and language (uses the
metaphor of the mirror).
2. Frame of study based on two models of deafness (connect to
play characteristics framing my study?)
3. The study examined the authors’ notes to determine whether the
author had a connection to deafness and if so, what kind.
4. Results show how deafness is depicted but variations existed
between the books.
5. Describes how children’s view of deaf people as a result of the
findings.
6. Limitations of study – the codebook, the sample of books,
presents portrayals of deaf people in books – does not speak to
the influence of these books on readers and their perceptions of
deafness.
7. It suggests a gap for authors, illustrators and publishers to fill.