Annal:2009 Randolph Caldecott Medal

The House in the Night

Susan Marie Swanson, Beth Krommes

• 2009 Caldecott winner
• Score: 10.59

A spare, patterned text and glowing pictures explore the origins of light that make a house a home in this bedtime book for young children. Naming nighttime things that are both comforting and intriguing to preschoolers—a key, a bed, the moon—this timeless book illuminates a reassuring order to the universe.

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever

Marla Frazee

• 2009 Caldecott honor
• 2008 Horn Book-picture honor
• Score: 12.59

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.

In this moving and hilarious celebration of young boys, childhood friendships, and the power of the imagination, Marla Frazee captures the very essence of summer vacation and what it means to be a kid.

How I Learned Geography

Uri Shulevitz

• 2009 Caldecott honor
• Score: 6.59

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. But 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.

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. An author’s note includes a brief description of his family’s experience, two of his early drawings, and the only surviving photograph of himself from that time.

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams

Jen Bryant, Melissa Sweet

• 2009 Caldecott honor
• Score: 6.59

In this picture book biography of William Carlos Williams, Bryant’s engaging prose and 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.