Smoky Night

Reading Images
Since 1922, the American Library Association has honored the most distinguished American children’s book each year. The Newbery Medal, for instance, honors authors for distinguished work in literature. The decision to honor illustrators similarly, resulted in the Caldecott Medal in 1937. It is important to look at these award-winning books with a critical eye. This paper will examine all of the Caldecott winners, but analysis will be based on the pictures, not the text. The artwork, subject, theme, race, and gender in the book will be assessed. Due to the vast number of Caldecott award winning books, it makes sense to group them by decade to ascertain common themes and threads and to assess an underlying reason for the changes

in artwork over time.
1930s
Since the Caldecott Medal was founded in 1937, there were only two award-winning books in the 1930s. While there were similarities in their artistic styles, there were some stark differences. Both books were drawn with pencil, added no color to the drawings, had some shadowing, and utilized the representational style of art, but that was where the similarities ended. Animals of the Bible, the first winner, was more of an illustrated book rather than a picture book. Not every page had an illustration and the full pages of text appeared to overwhelm the illustrations. On the other hand, Mei Li’s large pictures and limited text allowed the pictures to play a key, rather than a supporting, role. Many of the illustrations spanned the gutter, allowing text and pictures to work hand in hand to tell the story. In addition, Mei Li featured a female, Asian child as its main character- an unusual, but nonetheless welcome, combination in an era where women were just receiving some equal rights and the Chinese Exclusion Act was in place in the United States. It was clear from these two winners that Animals of the Bible showed the growing pains of identifying what a picture book was and that Mei Li exemplified exactly what a picture book should look like.
1940s
Artistically, the 1940s saw the branching out of mediums and the use of color. Colored pencils and watercolors were used, along with some instances of paint and ink. And while color had been added to some illustrations, primary colors were the main hues used. However, many books used color sparingly. For example, in Abraham Lincoln, only every other two-page spread was colored with colored pencil, leaving the others colored only in graphite pencil. In addition, many books from this decade were drawn in the representational style.
During the 1940s, the United States was nearing the end of the Second World War and, by the mid to late 1940s, attempting to reestablish a sense of normalcy. The Caldecott winners of this decade shared this theme of America as the good life, full of opportunity and people who were wholesome, good, and able to prosper. Books like Abraham Lincoln and They Were Strong and Good told stories of hard working Americans who made the country great. Books such as Make Way for Duckling and White Snow, Bright Snow painted a picture of determined, carefree, and kind people and life in America. The colors used in the images of The Little House portrayed the mood of the house, allowing the reader to relate to the house’s situation through the various environmental changes. This exemplified the United States’ ability to bounce back after two terrible wars and the Great Depression.
Finally, in this decade, African Americans and Native Americans were portrayed for the first time, but not in a positive light. In Abraham Lincoln and They Were Strong and Good, African Americans appeared as slaves and, in the latter, Native Americans were depicted as thieves and savages. Prayer of the Children and White Snow, Bright Snow included a few instances of racially diverse people, perhaps in an attempt at solidarity among people in a post-war nation.
1950s
The artistic mediums of the 1940s for the most part, carried over into the 1950s. Many of the illustrations were created with colored pencil, watercolor, or paint. What was particularly interesting in this decade was that in all but two books, every single illustration used colors other than black. A particularly beautiful example of the use of color was Time of Wonder. The watercolor images really allowed the reader to feel that every day on the Maine islands was a wonderfully, pleasant time. Finally, in a few books, Cinderella, Madeline’s Rescue, and Finders Keepers, the artistic style transitioned from representational to more surrealistic.
The 1950s saw a time of contentedness and relaxation as families experienced resurgence. The Caldecott winners of this decade reflected this ease in America. The books, Time of Wonder, Song of the Swallows and A Tree is Nice, shared a common theme of appreciation of nature, representing the American people’s feelings of relaxation after hard times. Many of these books also had a strong child presence, or at least a childlike playfulness. For example, The Biggest Bear, Madeline’s Rescue, Song of the Swallows, and The Egg Tree, featured children as main characters. Childlike playfulness came into play in Finders Keepers, Frog Went a Courtin’, and The Chanticleer and the Fox.
The representation of other races was limited in the 1950s. Song of the Swallows featured Latino main characters and the cover art of A Tree is Nice might have included an Asian American girl, but that was up for interpretation. Because the 1950s saw the rise of Civil Rights, one would think that African Americans would have been present in these books, but unfortunately, they were not.
1960s
The 1960s in America was time of new ideas and experiments, such as the Civil Rights movement and space exploration. Illustrators, too, experimented with different mediums, such as woodcuts, crosshatching, and collage. There was a decrease in shadowing, but the artistic style for all of the books was very surrealistic with dreamlike, unrealistic designs. One book that used surrealistic art using a crosshatching medium was Where the Wild Things Are. The crosshatching added texture and made the monsters and jungle environment come alive. Color also blossomed in this era with the inclusion of purples, pinks and oranges. In Nine Days to Christmas, the use of those colors amplified the Mexican heritage presented in the story. By using only those colors in certain elements, the readers’ eye was drawn to what the illustrator deemed important.
The most interesting observation about this decade was the different cultures featured in each book. People from Mexico, Russia, India, and Scotland were represented, but they were placed in their home countries rather than in the United States, isolating them as different from ‘real’ Americans. On another note, in The Snowy Day, the main character appears to be racially ambiguous, so one might see the child as an African American who enjoyed the snow, just as any child would.
1970s
This decade saw the same change and pressure for new ideas seen in the 1960s, but with even more of a push for Civil Rights for African Americans. The colors and styles of art represented that need for new ideas. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears was illustrated with cut shapes and watercolor airbrush; A Story, A Story was created with woodcuts; and Arrow to the Sun was drawn with a technique called gouache resist and colored with ink. Native/folk art appeared in many of these texts, which featured art styles of certain Native American or African tribes and intense bold colors.
The 1970s also continued to show interest in other cultures. All the books, except Noah’s Ark and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, represented people of other cultures, but not always in an appropriate style. One Fine Day was set in Armenia; The Funny Little Woman featured a Japanese woman; and Arrow to the Sun and The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses featured Native American tribes. While it was good to see continued representation of other cultures, it was not in an ideal manner. Arrow to the Sun failed to represent the rich heritage of the Pueblo Indians, instead choosing to use slick, stereotypical designs that lacked authenticity. In addition, when the Civil Rights movement strove to make white Americans see them as equals, the Caldecott Medal was awarded to books such as, A Story, A Story and Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions, which showed African Americans in their ‘primitive’ state in Africa. While some were glad to see representation of other cultures, it would have been better if these books pictured different races and cultures in contemporary times, participating in ‘regular’ activities.
1980s
After two decades of experimentation of new ideas and techniques, the 1980s returned to safe mediums, art styles, and themes. In types of mediums, illustrators returned to watercolor, colored pencil, and paint; the lines used to draw the pictures were thin in all books; and with the return to the classic art forms, shadowing came into play again. One surprising feature was that some illustrators took a turn from sprawling, two-page pictures to being contained within a square frame on one page. Jumanji, The Polar Express, and Fables showed this trend. One book that broke these trends was Shadow, with its use of collage. The colorful collage backgrounds, juxtaposed with stark black cutout figures to represent the shadows, made the text come to life.
The content of the books became tamer than the previous decades. The Ox-Cart Man and The Glorious Flight were books set in the past and the subdued pastel colors mimicked that old timey feel. A handful of books brought back classic tales such as Fables, a collection of Aesop’s memorable tales, and The Polar Express, a story of Santa Claus. The one book that did stand out for breaking the mold was Jumanji. It experimented with surrealism and the way the pictures were drawn made readers feel like they were in the story, observing everything as it unfolded. Overall, this decade lacked the experimentation that previous decades attempted.
1990s
The 1990s saw a return to normalcy and relaxation, which fostered illustrators’ ability to experiment with artistic mediums and eclectic stories. Each book in this decade was completely different from the next. For example, Lon Po Po was illustrated with watercolor and pastels, but also utilized panels to break up the images. Mirette on the High Wire was created using watercolor, but Emily Arnold McCully used impressionistic art. Golem was embellished using cut paper collage with dark colors to tell the dramatic story of a supernatural protector. And Rapunzel was beautifully illuminated with oil paintings reminiscent of French and Italian styles.
Concerning representation of other races and cultures, there were only a few examples.

Lon Po Po and Grandfather’s Journey represented Chinese and Japanese cultures. However, neither placed them in modern settings, as the former retold the story of Little Red Ringing Hood while the latter recounted the journey of a Japanese man to the United States in the early 1900s. On the other hand, Smoky Night was one of the best winners of the decade in terms of both representation and artistic style. Using thick acrylic paints and photographs of real item collages for the background, Smoky Night brought to life the LA Riots of 1992. The variety of mediums, artistic styles, and stories made the 1990s one of the more interesting

decades.
2000s
The 2000s continued the trend of differing artistic styles, a wonderful change from the earlier winners of the Caldecott Medal. Artists now had more freedom and access to different types of artistic mediums, which allowed for this extension of style. There was a drastic decrease in the use of shadowing. Additionally, illustrators mixed several mediums. For example, Joseph Had a Little Overcoat was illustrated with die cuts, watercolor, gouache, pencil, ink, and collage. Other unique features seen this decade were caricature drawings, surrealism juxtaposed with comic book style, sideways pictures, and fold out pictures. Another unusual and defining award winner was The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It was not the typical Caldecott winner type of picture book. Rather, it was a chapter book inundated with crosshatching, sketched images.
The representation of other cultures appeared to take a step backward this decade. While Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, The Hello, Goodbye Window, and, perhaps, Flotsam depicted people of other cultures and races, there was an increase in anthropomorphic characters with three books featuring animals as main characters. Even more disappointing was the other books not discussed featured white, male main characters.
2010s
The 2010s continued the same multimedia trend begun in the 2000s. Once again, the lines of the art were thin and shadowing appeared rarely. A unique characteristic this decade was the use of digital means to create parts of the illustrations. This is Not My Hat used Chinese ink to draw the images that were then scanned and inverted in order to add color. The Adventures of Beekle was drawn with pencil, crayon, ink, watercolor, and Adobe Photoshop. The 2010 winner, The Lion and the Mouse, was a wordless book with a wordless cover. While a wordless book was not unusual, as Tuesday (1992) and Flotsam (2007) were both wordless, there has not been a book with a wordless cover as well.
Representation of multicultural people was severely lacking thus far in the 2010s.

Five of the seven winners featured anthropomorphic characters. While A Sick Day for Amos McGee had a white, older man as a main character, the anthropomorphic animals played a major role in the story. The Adventures of Beekle had an imaginary main character with two human children as secondary characters. Locomotive was mainly about train travel in olden days, but depicted middle class white families. Moreover, in Finding Winnie, a mother shared with her son how his great-grandfather found a bear, but all those characters were white, too. The first seven books of this decade severely lacked diversity. Hopefully, the next three books will show more

progress.
Conclusion
Through the evaluation of nine decades of Caldecott Medal winners, it was obvious there have been many evolutions in artistic medium, artistic style, and representation of people of other cultures and races. From the pencil sketch with limited color to digitally created, full color illustrations; from representational to surrealistic art; and from white to anthropomorphic main characters, change was undoubtedly present. The artistic elements continued to advance and evolve, yielding stunning picture books truly deserving of their award. The one element with growing pains was the representation of people of other races. In the beginning and middle decades, they were shown in historically accurate context. In the latter decades, they began to appear in modern settings, as ‘regular people’ doing ‘regular activities.’ There was still a severe lack of accurate representation, as authors and illustrators migrated to anthropomorphic main characters. Caldecott winners are immensely popular and widely read. Therefore, winning books should contain excellent illustrations that depict characters to which children can relate.