Caldecott Children’s Book Awards Winners 2000-2009
To kick off Children’s Book Week, I’m offering up Caldecott Children’s Book Awards Winners and Honor Recipients of 2000-2009.
While the list is jam-packed with goodies, I’m going to let you know my boys’ personal favorites, too.
The child inside me is so excited!
All week long, I’m going to offer you hand-picked lists of books for your kids, from toddler to teen.
For more reading ideas, visit our extensive list of childrens books for kids!
You can find these Caldecott Children’s Book Awards Winners at your local library or purchase through the affiliate links provided for your convenience.

What are the Caldecott Book Awards?
The Caldecott Medal is highly regarded in the children’s book world and is a prestigious American children’s book award that is presented annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.
The award is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the previous year.
It was first awarded in 1938 and is named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott.
Caldecott Children’s Book Awards Winners FAVORITES
Mo Willems appeared three times just in the past decade!
We absolutely adore Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too.
It doesn’t matter how many times we read them, my boys just can’t seem to get enough of Mo Willems’ sense of humor and wonderful storytelling.
And don’t even get me started about his Elephant and Piggy series. We could just eat them all up!
Other stories that keep my boys in stitches include Interrupting Chicken, Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type and Olivia.
My boys also love sweet stories that teach lessons and give them warm fuzzies, including Blackout, The Lion & the Mouse, Zen Shorts and The Stray Dog.
These books are just the ones that stand out for my boys. Every child is certainly different.
And, as they get older, I’m sure their tastes will change a bit.
CALDECOTT AWARD WINNERS AND HONOR RECIPIENTS, 2000-2009
This Caldecott Medal–winning picture book gets children ready for bed with rhythmic text and glowing illustrations that explore the warmth and light that makes us feel at home.
Inside the house are nighttime things both comforting and intriguing—a bed, many books—and outside, too, there are sources of light and joy—the moon, the sky—that reveal a reassuring order in the universe.
This timeless bedtime tale takes readers through the house in the night, up into the sky, and back home again, all the while reminding us of the presence of love and wonder in our world.
This Caldecott Honor-winning book is a moving and hilarious celebration of young boys, childhood friendships, and the power of the imagination, where Marla Frazee captures the very essence of summer vacation and what it means to be a kid.
When James and Eamon go to a week of Nature Camp and stay at Eamon's grandparents' house, it turns out that their free time spent staying inside, eating waffles, and playing video games is way more interesting than nature.
But sometimes things work out best when they don't go exactly as planned.
2009 Caldecott Honor Book * 2009 Bank Street – Best Children’s Book of the Year
The award-winning artist's most personal work to date is based on his childhood memories of World War II and features stunning illustrations that celebrate the power of imagination.
Having fled from war in their troubled homeland, a boy and his family are living in poverty in a strange country.
Food is scarce, so when the boy's father brings home a map instead of bread for supper, at first the boy is furious.
When the map is hung on the wall, it floods their cheerless room with color.
As the boy studies its every detail, he is transported to exotic places without ever leaving the room, and he eventually comes to realize that the map feeds him in a way that bread never could.
2009 Caldecott Honor Book * An ALA Notable Book * A New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book * And more!
When he wrote poems, he felt as free as the Passaic River as it rushed to the falls.
Willie’s notebooks filled up, one after another. Willie’s words gave him freedom and peace, but he also knew he needed to earn a living.
So he went off to medical school and became a doctor -- one of the busiest men in town! Yet he never stopped writing poetry.
In this picture book biography of William Carlos Williams, Jen Bryant’s engaging prose and Melissa Sweet’s stunning mixed-media illustrations celebrate the amazing man who found a way to earn a living and to honor his calling to be a poet.
Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity.
When his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy.
A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.
A stirring, dramatic story of a slave who mails himself to freedom by a Jane Addams Peace Award-winning author and a Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist.
Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse.
Henry grows up and marries, but he is again devastated when his family is sold at the slave market.
Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North.
After an arduous journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday -- his first day of freedom.
2007 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year
WHICH CAME FIRST? The chicken or the egg? Simple die-cuts magically present transformation-- from seed to flower, tadpole to frog, caterpillar to butterfly.
Seed becomes flower, paint becomes picture, word becomes story -- and the commonplace becomes extraordinary as children look through and turn the pages of this novel and winning book.
2007 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year * 2008 Bank Street – Best Children’s Book of the Year * and more!
By joining memory and history, Sís takes us on his extraordinary journey: from infant with paintbrush in hand to young man borne aloft by the wings of his art. This title has Common Core connections.
Trixie can't wait to bring her one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny to school and show him off to everyone. But when she gets there, she sees something awful: Sonja has the same bunny.
Suddenly, Knuffle Bunny doesn't seem so one-of-a-kind anymore. Chaos ensues until the bunnies are taken away by Ms. Greengrove.
After school, Trixie finally gets her beloved bunny back. But in the middle of the night, Trixie realizes something. She has the wrong bunny!
Daddy comes to the rescue again as a midnight swap is arranged with the other bunny, the other little girl, and the other daddy.
Needless to say, the daddies are not very happy. By the end of the story Trixie has her beloved bunny back, but she has also gained something new: her very first best friend.
A bright, science-minded boy goes to the beach equipped to collect and examine flotsam--anything floating that has been washed ashore. Bottles, lost toys, small objects of every description are among his usual finds.
But there's no way he could have prepared for one particular discovery: a barnacle-encrusted underwater camera, with its own secrets to share . . . and to keep.
In each of his amazing picture books, David Wiesner has revealed the magical possibilities of some ordinary thing or happening -- a frog on a lily pad, a trip to the Empire State Building, a well-known nursery tale.
This time, a day at the beach is the springboard into a wildly imaginative exploration of the mysteries of the deep, and of the qualities that enable us to witness these wonders and delight in them.
This truly special alphabet book is filled with a stampede of wild animals, from Chinese Alligator to Grevy's Zebra--and they're all so rare, they're endangered.
David McLimans's bold and playful illustrations transform each letter into a work of art, boldly rendered with animal characteristics, including scales, horns, and even insect wings.
Once you take this eye-opening safari, you'll never look at letters or animals the same way again.
In lyrical text, Carole Boston Weatherford describes Tubman's spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her north to freedom on that very first trip to escape the brutal practice of forced servitude.
Born into slavery, Harriet Tubman hears these words from God one summer night and decides to leave her husband and family behind and escape.
Taking with her only her faith, she must creep through woods with hounds at her feet, sleep for days in a potato hole, and trust people who could have easily turned her in. But she was never alone.
Tubman would make nineteen subsequent trips back south, never being caught, but none as profound as this first one.
Courageous, compassionate, and deeply religious, Harriet Tubman, with her bravery and relentless pursuit of freedom, is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
The kitchen window at Nanna and Poppy's house is, for one little girl, a magic gateway. Everything important happens near it, through it, or beyond it.
The world for this little girl will soon grow larger and more complex, but never more enchanting or deeply felt.
Her story is both a voyage of discovery and a celebration of the commonplace wonders that define childhood, expressed as a joyful fusion of text with evocative and exuberant art that garnered the highest honor in children's book illustration in 2006.
Award-winning poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni's evocative text combines with Bryan Collier's striking cut-paper images to retell the story of this historic event from a wholly unique and original perspective.
Fifty years after her refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus, Mrs. Rosa Parks is still one of the most important figures in the American civil rights movement.
This picture- book tribute to Mrs. Parks is a celebration of her courageous action and the events that followed.
"Michael," said Karl. "There's a really big bear in the backyard."
This is how three children meet Stillwater, a giant panda who moves into the neighborhood and tells amazing tales.
To Addy he tells a story about the value of material goods. To Michael he pushes the boundaries of good and bad. And to Karl he demonstrates what it means to hold on to frustration.
With graceful art and simple stories that are filled with love and enlightenment, Jon Muth -- and Stillwater the bear -- present three ancient Zen tales that are sure to strike a chord in everyone they touch.
The first "manned" hot-air balloon is about to take off!
But what are those noises coming from the basket?Based on the (POSSIBLY) true report of a day in 1783, this is the story of (PERHAPS) the bravest collection of flyers the world has ever seen, as (SORT OF) told to Marjorie Priceman.
From spring’s first thaw to autumn’s chill, the world of the pond is a dramatic place.
Though seemingly quiet, ponds are teeming with life and full of surprises.
Their denizens — from peepers to painted turtles, duckweed to diving beetles — lead secret and fascinating lives.
A unique blend of whimsy, science, poetry, and hand-colored woodcuts, this Caldecott Honor-winning collection invites us to take a closer look at our hidden ponds and wetlands.
Here is a celebration of their beauty and their mystery.
An ALA Notable Book * A New York Times Best Illustrated Book Winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award
The nationally bestselling picture book about a kitten, the moon, and a bowl of milk, written by the celebrated author and illustrator Kevin Henkes, was awarded a Caldecott Medal.
From one of the most celebrated and beloved picture book creators working in the field today comes a memorable new character and a suspenseful adventure just right for reading and sharing at home and in the classroom.
It is Kitten's first full moon, and when she sees it she thinks it is a bowl of milk in the sky. And she wants it. Does she get it? Well, no . . . and yes. What a night!
This Caldecott Honor–winning book about a book is a delightful, wordless tale about the power of stories, perfect for fans of Brendan Wenzel and David Weisner.A red book is lying in the snow in the city.
When you open it, you find a new kind of adventure.
You will be taken across oceans and continents when you just flip the page. But this book-in-a-book holds even more secrets to discover.
Lehman’s simple story line and surprising illustrations create an unexpectedly enchanting story about friendship, connectedness, and how stories can bring us together . . . and even bring us inside their pages.
Trixie, Daddy, and Knuffle Bunny take a trip to the neighborhood Laundromat. But the exciting adventure takes a dramatic turn when Trixie realizes somebunny has been left behind....
In this special edition of Mo Willems's beloved and acclaimed Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, readers will have a chance to enjoy the tale three different ways - reading, listening, and singing.
Featuring the complete story, a storybook read-along, and the original cast recording of the Kennedy Center's Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical, this book-and-CD collection is sure to delight fans, both old and new.
2004 Boston Globe – Horn Book Award for Picture Books * 2006 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children’s Video
The story of a daring tightrope walk between skyscrapers, as seen in Robert Zemeckis's The Walk, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
In 1974, French aerialist Philippe Petit threw a tightrope between the two towers of the World Trade Center and spent an hour walking, dancing, and performing high-wire tricks a quarter mile in the sky.
This picture book captures the poetry and magic of the event with a poetry of its own: lyrical words and lovely.
Ella Sarah may be little, but she has a BIG sense of style -- and it isn't at all like that of her mother, father, and older sister.
Yet they all want her to dress just like them!
Ella Sarah will have none of it -- and when her flamboyantly dressed friends arrive, it's clear that Ella Sarah's favorite outfit is just right for her.
Written and illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine, this spirited, Caldecott Honor-winning story will gently nudge young children toward independence--providing plenty of exuberant colors and patterns to identify along the way.
A nose for digging? Ears for seeing? Eyes that squirt blood? Turn the page to find out which marvelous animal these attributes belong to.
With six full spreads illustrated in cut-paper collage and an end glossary with even more fantastic facts, readers will learn about species of birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish, mammals, and arthropods.
Arresting details and visual surprises abound in this nonfiction picture book that will stir the imaginations of readers young and old.
When a bus driver takes a break from his route, a very unlikely volunteer springs up to take his place-a pigeon!
But you've never met one like this before.
As he pleads, wheedles, and begs his way through the book, children will love being able to answer back and decide his fate.
Rabbit saves the day in a most ingeneous way.When Mouse lets his best friend, Rabbit, play with his brand-new airplane, trouble isn't far behind.
From Caldecott Honor award winner Eric Rohmann comes a brand-new picture book about friends and toys and trouble, illustrated in robust, expressive prints.
"'Will you walk into my parlor,'said the Spider to the Fly..."is easily one of the most recognized and quoted first lines in all of English verse.
But do you have any idea how the age-old tale of the Spider and the Fly ends?
Join celebrated artist Tony DiTerlizzi as he -- drawing inspiration from one of his loves, the classic Hollywood horror movies of the 1920s and 1930s -- shines a cinematic spotlight on Mary Howitt's warning, written to her own children about those who use sweet words to hide their not-so-sweet intentions.
2002 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and Notable Children’s Book of the Year
A dog named Hondo and his friend Fred are going to the beach for a day of excitement.
Fabian the cat is left behind at home to play with the baby.
Who will cause more trouble? And who will have more fun?
Peter McCarty's exquisite illustrations and understated wit turn an ordinary day in the lives of two pets into a rare delight.
For 40 days and 40 nights rain poured from the heavens, enveloping the world.
Only Noah had been warned by God of the great floodand only Noah could save life on earth.
This powerful story of salvation has fascinated people of all ages for centuries.
Now, four-time Caldecott Honor-recipient Jerry Pinkney captures all the courage, drama, and beauty of this ancient parable in rich, glorious paintings.
Full of sensitive detail and emotion, his art brings new life and meaning to an important message of peace.
Taking visual narrative to a new level, this picture book from the creator of Tuesday and Flotsam begins a seemingly familiar tale of three pigs preparing to build houses of straw, sticks, and bricks.
When the Big Bad Wolf comes looking for a snack, he huffs and puffs the first little pig right out of the story... and into the realm of pure imagination!
Dialogue balloons pepper a wide variety of illustration styles taking readers through a dazzling fantasy universe to the surprising and happy ending. You will never look at “The Three Little Pigs”—or artwork—the same way again!
This picture book biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. brings his life and the profound nature of his message to young children through his own words.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was one of the most influential and gifted speakers of all time.
Doreen Rappaport uses quotes from some of his most beloved speeches to tell the story of his life and his work in a simple, direct way.
Bryan Collier's stunning collage art combines remarkable watercolor paintings with vibrant patterns and textures.
This extraordinary true story introduces readers to the unforgettable Waterhouse Hawkins: Victorian artist and visionary who built the world's first life-size models of dinosaurs!
Can you fathom a time when almost no one in the world knew what a dinosaur looked like?
That was true in the mid-nineteenth century, until Victorian artist Waterhouse Hawkins built the first life-size models of dinosaurs, first in his native England and later in New York City, and dazzled the world with his awe-inspiring creations.
With impeccable attention to detail, Barbara Kerley unearths a story of consuming passion, triumph, loss, and courage--and ultimately, of an extraordinary legacy that lives on today.
New York Times Best Illustrated Book * ALA Notable Children’s Book * Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book * Amazon.com Editors’ Pick * and MORE!
Caldecott Medalist Marc Simont's heartwarming tale of a stray dog is told with tender simplicity and grace.
When a little dog appears at a family picnic, the girl and boy play with him all afternoon, and they name him Willy. At day's end they say good-bye. But the dog has won their hearts and stays on their minds.
The following Saturday the family returns to the picnic grounds to look for Willy, but they are not alone—the dog catcher is looking for him, too!
"And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville-mighty Casey has struck out."
Those lines have echoed through the decades, the final stanza of a poem published pseudonymously in the June 3, 1888, issue of the San Francisco Examiner. Its author would rather have seen it forgotten.
Instead, Ernest Thayer's poem has taken a well-deserved place as an enduring icon of Americana. Christopher Bing's magnificent version of this immortal ballad of the flailing 19th-century baseball star is rendered as though it had been newly discovered in a hundred-year-old scrapbook.
Bing seamlessly weaves real and trompe l'oeil reproductions of artifacts-period baseball cards, tickets, advertisements, and a host of other memorabilia into the narrative to present a rich and multifaceted panorama of a bygone era.
Farmer Brownhas a problem.His cows like to type.
All day long he hears Click, clack, MOO.Click, clack, MOO.Clickety, clack, MOO.
But Farmer Brown's problems REALLY begin when his cows start leaving him notes....
Doreen Cronin's understated text and Betsy Lewin's expressive illustrations make the most of this hilarious situation.
Olivia is a gorgeous little pig who likes to dress up, sing songs, dance, think, snooze and is even quite good at building sandcastles.
Celebrate the little moments that make each month special in this beautiful picture book featuring twelve poems about a family and the turn of the seasons.
From the short, frozen days of January, through the light of summer, to the first snowflakes of December, Updike's poems rejoices in the familiar, wondrous qualities that make each part of the year unique.
Only the person who gave us Tuesday could have devised this fantastic Caldecott Honor-winning tale, which begins with a school trip to the Empire State Building.
There a boy makes friends with a mischievous little cloud, who whisks him away to the Cloud Dispatch Center for Sector 7 (the region that includes New York City).
The clouds are bored with their everyday shapes, so the boy obligingly starts to sketch some new ones..
The wordless yet eloquent account of this unparalleled adventure is a funny, touching story about art, friendship, and the weather, as well as a visual tour de force.
This beautifully designed book tells the story of a little girl named Sophie, who learns that it's okay to be angry.
Everybody gets angry sometimes. For children, anger can be very upsetting.
Parents, teachers, and children can talk about it.
People do lots of different things when they get angry.
In this Caldecott Honor book, kids will see what Sophie does when she gets angry. What do you do?
For over one hundred years The Ugly Duckling has been a childhood favorite, and Jerry Pinkney's spectacular adaptation brings it triumphantly to new generations of readers.
With keen emotion and fresh vision, the acclaimed artist captures the essence of the tale's timeless appeal: The journey of the awkward little bird — marching bravely through hecklers, hunters, and cruel seasons — is an unforgettable survival story; this blooming into a graceful swan is a reminder of the patience often necessary to discover true happiness.
Splendid watercolors set in the lush countryside bring the drama to life in this hardcover picture book.
For the full Caldecott award winners and honor recipients:
- Caldecott Award and Honor Books, 2020-Now
- Caldecott Award and Honor Books, 2010-2019
- Caldecott Award and Honor Books, 2000-2009
- Caldecott Award and Honor Books, 1990-1999
- Caldecott Award and Honor Books, 1980-1989
- Caldecott Award and Honor Books, 1970-1979
- Caldecott Award and Honor Books, 1960-1969
- Caldecott Award and Honor Books, 1938-1959
Great to see all of these books together in one place!
What a great list! I have read several of these with my boys but there are some we haven’t read yet. I will have to make a trip or two or three or four to the library 🙂 Krista @ A Handful of Everything
That looks like a list that even I could get into! 🙂
Great list, it will be rather useful around my nephew’s birthday 🙂
Great list! I’ve pinned this. I haven’t read some of these so I’ll have to check them out during our next library visit. Thanks so much for linking up with us at Pin It Tuesday! Hope to see more from you next week!
Love to see Children’s Book Week being promoted! Go kid lit!
A wonderful list of award winning books. You’ve made a lot of happy authors. Mums and children will find plenty here to enrich their lives and their reading time together. Thank you for linking to the KidLit Blog Hop.
Wendy (co-hostess)
Popped in from Inspire Me Monday! As a children’s writer, this week is definitely my favorite! So many good memories!
Great list!
Thanks so much for linking to the Pin It Party! Have pinned and follow 🙂 http://pinterest.com/jbmumofone/
It’s interesting that now that my children are older, I don’t personally get to see these books anymore. Although they are ALLL OVER the blogosphere. Thanks for sharing your list in the Kid Lit Blog Hop.
Great list of books! Make me wish my kids were still little 🙂 Thank you for sharing this at our All My Bloggy Friends Party !
Linda
With A Blast
Brilliant lists