The plan worked well — so well that Newbery- and Caldecott Medal-winning titles have largely remained in print ever since and enjoyed pride of place on library, school and bookstore shelves across America. Their success raised the status of illustration as well, from deadline grunt work to bona fide art. When an earnest young Ohio-born painter named Robert McCloskey won the 1942 Caldecott Medal for “Make Way for Ducklings,” he reportedly had to ask his editor what it was that had just happened to him. experimented with arrangements for choosing the winners before opting, in the late 1930s, for a committee of 23 librarians who selected both the Newbery and Caldecott recipients. By 1980, the committee had morphed into two groups of 15, one responsible for the Newbery, the other the Caldecott.

Source: International New York Times December 12, 2019 20:26 UTC