by Leonard S. Marcus

Frances Foster Books, 2013

Image from author’s website

Being passionate about picture books and the Caldecott award, I have always wondered why this prized medal is named after an early British illustrator (also I was always more of a Walter Crane girl). Now I know!* Marcus is a well-known picture book aficionado and commentator, and his biography uses Caldecott’s drawings, sketches and illustrations to paint a picture of the man himself. While the picture book format is appropriate for the content, it is a bit misleading regarding the intended audience. It’s got a lot of text and no heading or chapter breaks. My library has it labeled as J-BIO, and while it was fascinating for me as an amateur picture book historian, Caldecott didn’t lead the type of life that I would normally put in a J biography. But what do I know. Maybe some kids will be into it. Honestly, I think the main audience will be librarians and other picture book people.

So, since I fit perfectly into that niche, I absolutely adored this book. Packed with Caldecott’s pictures, full of cool information on how he got started illustrating picture books and revolutionized the field. Spoiler alert! Caldecott actually died pretty young, while he was traveling through the U.S.

*Caldecott’s new-and-improved picture books were the first to really vary the way text and illustrations interacted on the page. He introduced movement in illustration. He pioneered the addition of smaller sketches to complement the full-color illustrations. He loved that he could tell a bonus story that only took place in the illustrations. These are all highly valued in Caldecott award contenders and make for some dynamic storytelling.

p.s. I think my fantasy dream title is “Picture Book Historian”