Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Sarah Shurm
Barbara Ward
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 2
“Picture books are a perfect vehicle for opening a child’s eye to the beauty and power of
images because they do not function like other books, where words alone tell a story” (Jacobs,
Tunnell, Young & Bryan, 1996). This description of picture books, from Children’s Literature,
Briefly can be used to describe all of the Caldecott Children’s Book Award Winners. Of the
fifteen books I read from the long list of Caldecott Award Winners, none stood out to me quite
like Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, written and illustrated by
Simms Taback immediately caught my eye with its colorful illustrations and lively pages filled
from top to bottom with characters in the story. Not only were the pictures throughout the story
appealing and fascinating, but the words on the pages seemed to complete the story and make it
one of my new favorites. The words of the story filled in the blanks and explained elements that
the pictures could not, making Joseph Had a Little Overcoat the Caldecott Award Winner that
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, as the winner of the 2000 Caldecott Children’s Book
Award, went above and beyond in fulfilling the criteria for this particular award spectacularly.
Winners of this award must, “provide the child with a visual experience” (Unknown, 2008). The
illustrations throughout Joseph Had a Little Overcoat make readers feel as though they are in the
story with Joseph, experiencing the events that continue to put wear and tear on his overcoat. The
illustrations are filled with life and leave readers feeling excited as they turn the pages and see
the creative pieces of clothing that Joseph turns his coat into as it becomes older and more worn
throughout the story. This story also teaches readers a very valuable lesson. Joseph Had a Little
Overcoat teaches readers that you can always make something out of nothing, a lesson that is
I was very nervous to make the required poster for this project for several reasons. The
primary reason being that the artwork in the story is so intricate and detailed that it made me
nervous to have to create a piece of art myself, based off this book. I was worried that it would
look nothing like Simms Taback’s amazing illustrations. The main theme of the story is
resourcefulness, as Joseph continues to make something out of his overcoat as it gets more and
more worn. For my poster, I used felt to recreate an overcoat and put patches in various spots on
the jacket, to show that it is old and worn. The original cover shows Joseph in his original
overcoat, before it was worn out to the point where all Joseph had left of it was a button for his
suspenders. In my poster, I used various colors of felt to make up the overcoat, showing that it
has already been worn out and modified. My poster demonstrates the theme of resourcefulness
because I placed patches on the coat, showing that it is still usable and worth fixing. This poster
also reflects the content of the book because the book is all about Joseph’s overcoat, and my
poster is of an overcoat full of character and creativity. I also incorporated the pictorial style of
the book and main media theme into my poster. I did this by realizing that all of the illustrations
in Joseph Had a Little Overcoat are filled with color. For my poster, I used a variety of colors,
not just in writing my title but also in designing the overcoat in the center of the poster. Making
sure that the pictorial style of my poster matched the style of the book itself was something that
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat meets the criteria for the Caldecott Children’s Book award
extraordinarily. The story is about a man who doesn’t let the wear and tear of his favorite jacket
defeat him, but rather encourages him to be resourceful, while constantly maintaining a positive
mindset. The book’s illustrations do more than reinforce the words on the page. The pictures add
to the story, give it new meaning and are what set this particular book apart from the other
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 4
Caldecott Award Winners. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Joseph Had a Little Overcoat and will
References
Jacobs, J., Tunnell, M., Young, T., & Bryan, G. (1996). Children's literature, briefly (6th ed.).
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Merrill.
Unknown. (2014). Caldecott Medal - Terms and Criteria. American Library Association.
Retrieved from
http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottterms/caldecott
terms
Annotations
The Adventures of Beekle, by Dan Santant is about Beekle, an imagine friend patiently waiting
to be picked by a child on an island full of other imaginary friends. One day Beekle sets sail to
the real world to go find a child himself. When he gets to the “real world”, Beekle finds that
things are gray and daunting, leaving Beekle worried that he will never find a child to call his
friend. Finally, Beekle meets Alice and the two become immediate friends. They share
adventures and jokes and Beekle and Alice become the best of friends. The illustrations
throughout this book are full of color and creativity and bring to life Beekle’s journey to the real
Santat, D. (2016). The adventures of Beekle: the unimaginary friend. Sydney, N.S.W.: Hachette
Australia.
2. Locomotive
Locomotive, by Brian Floca is a children’s picture book that teaches readers about the history of
the first railroad and locomotive. The pictures display the history of the first train, its engine, and
the individuals who work on the train, the train station and everything else in between. The story
explains the importance of the conductor and fireman and explains each of their crucial roles in
detail. The book illustrates a locomotive’s travel across the country in the 19th century. The
detailed illustrations explain the complicated processes that go into traveling on a locomotive
and show readers just how important the locomotive is to the history of the United States.
Floca, B. (2013). Locomotive. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 7
A Ball for Daisy, by Chris Raschka is a children’s picture book with no words. The book is about
Daisy and her red ball that she brings with her on all of her adventures. When Daisy’s red ball
gets popped by another dog at the park, Daisy becomes very sad and doesn’t want to play outside
anymore. When a sweet girl gives Daisy a new ball to play with, Daisy is filled with excitement.
This story teaches young children that even if you break or lose a favorite toy, keep playing and
don’t be sad for too long because everything will work out just fine in the end.
Raschka, C. (2015). A ball for Daisy. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.
The Man Who Walked between the Towers, by Mordicai Gerstein is about Felipe, a street
performer from New York City. Felipe particularly loved to walk and dance on a rope and
dreamed of stretching a wire between the two Twin Towers to walk across. When the police of
New York City tell Felipe that he is not allowed to walk between the towers, he creates a plan to
go behind their backs to complete his walk. The next morning, Felipe walked the distance
between the towers and after his walk, was arrested and taken to court. In court, the judge
sentenced him to perform in the park for the children of the city, a punishment that Felipe was
Gerstein, M. (2010). The man who walked between the towers. New York: Square Fish.
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 8
The Three Pigs, by David Wiesner is a remake on the classic version of the story The Three
Little Pigs. In the story, each pig escapes just as the wolf is about to eat them. Together the three
pigs escape and adventure around into different other classic storybooks. As they travel through
the other stories, they make friends and bring them along with them. The illustrations of this
story create a whole different dimension and really get the readers imagination going. The
illustrator did a fantastic job at making it clear that the pigs were outside of their original story,
traveling around to others. The story ends with the three pigs, along with characters from the
other stories they passed through, all sitting down together for supper.
6. Snowflake Bentley
Snowflake Bentley, by Jacqueline Briggs Martin is about Wilson, a young boy obsessed with
snow and snowflakes. Wilson lives on a farm in Vermont and spent many of his early childhood
years trying to draw snowflakes, but they always melted before he was able to finish his
drawings. When Wilson heard of a camera that could capture the snowflakes intricate details, his
parents use their savings to get this special camera for Wilson. At the beginning, Wilson’s photos
were a bunch of failures but he continued experimenting with the camera until he finally was
able to capture the perfect image. Wilson eventually caught pneumonia when he was caught in a
blizzard and died two weeks later. The illustrations throughout this book are filled with details
and help readers understand just how important capturing these images was to Wilson.
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 9
Martin, J. B., & Azarian, M. (2011). Snowflake Bentley. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Mirette on the High Wire, by Emily Arnold McCully is about Mirette, a young girl living in a
boardinghouse in France. In the story, Mirette meets a man named Bellini and becomes amazed
by his tightrope walking and decides that she wants to learn this fascinating skill. Mirette begins
waking up extra early in the mornings to get her chores finished in time to take lessons from
Bellini. When Mirette learns that Bellini is a famous tightrope walker, she encourages him to
make a grand return. On the morning of Bellini’s great return, Mirette, watching Bellini on the
rope from the street below, realizes that Bellini seems hesitant and nervous on the rope. Mirette
quickly heads to the roof and joins Bellini on the rope and together they awe the crowd and
complete the walk together. This story teaches children that everyone gets scared sometimes but
McCully, E. A. (2007). Mirette on the high wire. New York: G.P. Putnamʼs Sons.
8. Tuesday
Tuesday, by David Wiesner is about hundreds of frogs making a rampage through a town,
scaring dogs and leaving leafs covering the roads in the process. With very few words in this
story, readers are left to use their imaginations as they read. The illustrations take up entire pages
and are filled with color and detail. From the facial expressions of the frogs, to the curious faces
of the people living in the town the morning after, readers are left wondering what makes these
frogs act the way they do on that particular Tuesday evening. The story ends with an illustration
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 10
of a barn and the caption “Next Tuesday 7:58 PM” and several pigs flying in the air, leaving
readers wondering if different animals roam the streets every Tuesday in this particular town.
Song and Dance Man, by Karen Ackerman is about a grandpa who used to dance all the time as a
younger man. One day, the grandpa takes his grandchildren up to the attic to look through his
chest of old tap shoes, hats and all sorts of other dancing accessories that grandpa used to use.
Grandpa puts on a dancing and singing show for his grandchildren and shows them the
fabricated show that he used to perform often as a young man. The grandchildren are amazed by
their grandpa’s show and beg for him to keep going and tell him that they wish they could have
seen him perform when he was younger. The illustrations throughout this story really bring to
life the personality of the song and dance man and allow readers to imagine how creative and
Ackerman, K., & Gammell, S. (1999). Song and dance man. New York: Knopf.
Owl Moon, by Jane Yolen is about two young siblings who go out one winter night owling. The
two of them walk into the snowy forest, making sure to be extra quiet and aware of the noises
around them. Paul, the older brother makes owl noises several times but at first, gets no response.
When the two siblings came to a large clearing in the forest, Paul made more owl calling sounds.
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 11
This time, Paul was answered with an owl sound coming from inside the forest. When the owl
flies over to Paul and his younger sister in the story, the two children stare at the owl for what
feels like one hundred minutes. Finally, the owl flew back into the forest and the two children
Yolen, J., & Schoenherr, J. (2013). Owl moon. NY, NY: Puffin Books.
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, by Verna Aardema is a children’s story about the
detailed history behind why mosquitoes buzz annoyingly in peoples ears. Long ago, the mother
owl was the animal in charge of calling on the sun in the mornings to have it rise. One evening, a
long chain of events occurred that resulting in the monkey breaking a branch above mother owl’s
nest that killed one of the baby owls. Mother owl was too upset about this event that she did not
call on the sun to raise in the morning. This sent the forest into a panic and the king of the jungle,
the lion traced the events that caused the money to accidently kill the baby owl back to a
mosquito. The story ends by explaining that mosquitoes buzz in our ears to ask if the animals of
the forest are still mad at it, but are answered honestly by being slapped away, assuring them that
Aardema, V., Dillon, L., Dillozn, D., Wallerstein, W., Tehon. (1975) Why mosquitoes buzz in
people's ears: A West African tale. New York: Dial Press.
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 12
The Funny Little Woman, by Arlene Mosel is a story about a little woman’s adventure as she
follows her runaway dumping around the city. On her journey to find her dumping, the little
woman faces dangerous and scary obstacles. The little woman faces the wicked oni on her search
for her missing dumping and the wicked oni does something that was completely unexpected.
The wicked oni takes the funny little woman home with him and makes her cook for himself.
The wicked oni had a magic paddle that the little woman used while she cooked that turned a
small amount of food into a tremendous amount. For weeks and months, the funny little woman
continued to cook for the wicked oni. One afternoon she became particularly lonely and decided
to return home to her little house. The little woman took with her the magic paddle and was very
happy because now she could make more rice dumplings faster than ever before.
Mosel, A., & Lent, B. (2007). The funny little woman. Place of publication not identified: Paw
Prints.
The Little Island, by Golden MacDonald is a children’s story about a special island in the middle
of the ocean in which birds and fish surrounded it and flowers of all sorts bloomed on the island.
One day, a little sailboat with two people and a kitten on it came to the island for a picnic. The
kitten and the island talk to each other about how they are both islands. The kitten did not believe
the island and couldn’t understand how the island was a part of the land, when it is surrounded
by ocean. When the cat talks to a fish, it learns that all land is one land under the sea and begins
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 13
to believe what the island had told him. The illustrations throughout this book show readers the
beauty of the little island and help readers to imagine themselves on the island.
Weisgard, L., & MacDonald, G. (1946). The little island. New York, NY: Bantam Doubleday
Dell.
Many Moons, by James Thurber is a children’s story about a young princess named Lenore who
is sick from eating a raspberry tart. Lenore wants the moon to help her feel better again. Lenore’s
father, the king, summons his wise man and tells him of his daughter’s request. The wise man is
stumped, and does not know how he will get to the moon to ask it to help the king’s daughter.
When the wise man doesn’t know how to ask the moon, the king summons the wizard and
mathematician, but they are also stumped. Finally, the jester goes to the town’s goldsmith and
asks him to make a necklace with a moon-like charm on it. The jester gives this gift to Lenore
Thurber, J., & Slobodkin, L. (2003). Many moons. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc.
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 14
References
Aardema, V., Dillon, L., Dillozn, D., Wallerstein, W., Tehon. (1975) Why mosquitoes
buzz in people's ears: A West African tale. New York: Dial Press.
Ackerman, K., & Gammell, S. (1999). Song and dance man. New York: Knopf.
Floca, B. (2013). Locomotive. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Gerstein, M. (2010). The man who walked between the towers. New York: Square Fish.
Jacobs, J., Tunnell, M., Young, T., & Bryan, G. (1996). Children's literature, briefly (6th
ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Merrill.
Martin, J. B., & Azarian, M. (2011). Snowflake Bentley. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt.
McCully, E. A. (2007). Mirette on the high wire. New York: G.P. Putnamʼs Sons.
Mosel, A., & Lent, B. (2007). The funny little woman. Place of publication not identified:
Paw Prints.
Raschka, C. (2015). A ball for Daisy. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.
Santat, D. (2016). The adventures of Beekle: the unimaginary friend. Sydney, N.S.W.:
Hachette Australia.
Thurber, J., & Slobodkin, L. (2003). Many moons. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc.
Unknown. (2014). Caldecott Medal - Terms and Criteria. American Library Association.
Retrieved from
http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottterms/c
aldecottterms
Weisgard, L., & MacDonald, G. (1946). The little island. New York, NY: Bantam
Doubleday Dell.
Yolen, J., & Schoenherr, J. (2013). Owl moon. NY, NY: Puffin Books.