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Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 1

Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Children’s


Book Award

Sarah Shurm

Teaching and Learning 307

Barbara Ward
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 2

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

“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

best exemplifies the true definition of a picture book.

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

very crucial and important to be taught to children at a young age.


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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

was very important to me.

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

definitely be adding it to my library for my future students to read.


Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 5

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

Taback, S. (2003). Joseph had a little overcoat. New York: Scholastic.


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Annotations

1. The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend

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

world and add excitement to his adventures with Alice.

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.
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3. A Ball for Daisy

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.

4. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers

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

perfectly fine with.

Gerstein, M. (2010). The man who walked between the towers. New York: Square Fish.
Visual Literacy: The Caldecott Book Award 8

5. The Three Pigs

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.

Wiesner, D. (2002). The three pigs. New York: Scholastic.

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.
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Martin, J. B., & Azarian, M. (2011). Snowflake Bentley. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

7. Mirette on the High Wire

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

it is important to lean on your friends for help and stay confident.

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
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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.

Wiesner, D. (2012). Tuesday. London: Andersen.

9. Song and Dance Man

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

fun-filled his shows “back in the day” would have been.

Ackerman, K., & Gammell, S. (1999). Song and dance man. New York: Knopf.

10. Owl Moon

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.
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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

knew it was time to go home.

Yolen, J., & Schoenherr, J. (2013). Owl moon. NY, NY: Puffin Books.

11. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears

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

the forest is still mad.

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.
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12. The Funny Little Woman

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.

13. The Little Island

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
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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.

14. Many Moons

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

and fulfills her request for the moon.

Thurber, J., & Slobodkin, L. (2003). Many moons. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc.
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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.

Taback, S. (2003). Joseph had a little overcoat. New York: Scholastic.

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.

Wiesner, D. (2002). The three pigs. New York: Scholastic.

Wiesner, D. (2012). Tuesday. London: Andersen.

Yolen, J., & Schoenherr, J. (2013). Owl moon. NY, NY: Puffin Books.

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