One of the tasks for my reading journal is to describe the differences between Caldecott and Newbery awards as well as to determine if one award is better than the other. Before this class I knew they were both about children's books but I didn't know anything about them. As I've been reading my five Caldecott books and my two Newbery books for this class I had come to my own conclusion that the Caldecott award was for picture books and the Newbery award was for children's/pre-teen chapter books. When I started doing some research I found that my assumption was pretty close.
According to the ALA, the Newbery Medal honors the author of the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The Caldecott Medal honors the artist of the "most distinguished American picture book for children". In summary, that means the Newbery Medal is for the story and the Caldecott Medal is for the illustrations. A book can actually be nominated for both awards although it can't win both. Both awards stipulate that that book is published in the United States and that the author or artist is a citizen or resident of the United States as well.
I don't think that one award is any better or worse than the other since they measure two totally different things. The illustrations can be just as important (or maybe even more so) as the words in children's books. I'm actually glad they created two awards because there are many books for young children that probably never would have been recognized as a Newbery winner. How can you really compare the literary value of a book written for pre-teens with the visual and literary appeal of a book written for young children?
Information about the Newbery and Caldecott awards found athttp://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/index.cfm.
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