David Wiesner is an American illustrator and writer of children's books, known best for picture books including some that tell stories without words. As an illustrator he has won three Caldecott Medals recognizing the year's "most distinguished American picture book for children" and he was one of five finalists in 2008 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest recognition available for creators of children's books.
Wiesner at the Mazza Museum in 2011
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The Caldecott and Newbery Medals are considered the most prestigious American children's book awards. Beside the Caldecott Medal, the committee awards a variable number of citations to runners-up they deem worthy, called the Caldecott Honor or Caldecott Honor Books.
Caldecott Medal
Frederic G. Melcher first proposed the idea for the Caldecott Award following the success of the Newbery Award.
Illustration by Randolph Caldecott (1878) of The Diverting History of John Gilpin, basis of the medal's obverse
Randolph Caldecott, for whom the medal is named, was an English artist and illustrator. Maurice Sendak said, "Caldecott's work heralds the beginning of the modern picture book."
