Book picks similar to
Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey


picture-books
caldecott
childrens
children-s-books

When I Was Young in the Mountains


Cynthia Rylant - 1982
    Growing up in the mountains is depicted with a spare, lyrical text and beautiful, tender illustrations by Diane Goode. The book was awarded a Caldecott Honor Medal.

Noah's Ark


Peter Spier - 1977
    Peter Spier uses his own translation of a seventeenth-century Dutch poem about this most famous menagerie.

Grandfather's Journey


Allen Say - 1993
    He warmly conveys his own love for his two countries and described the strong and constant desire to be in both places at once: When in one country, he invariably misses the other. His grandfather, he tells us, would understand.

Snowflake Bentley


Jacqueline Briggs Martin - 1998
    And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystal. Bentley's enthusiasm for photographing snowflakes was often misunderstood in his time, but his patience and determination revealed two important truths: no two snowflakes are alike; and each one is startlingly beautiful. His story is gracefully told and brought to life in lovely woodcuts, giving children insight into a soul who had not only a scientist's vision and perseverance but a clear passion for the wonders of nature. Snowflake Bentley won the 1999 Caldecott Medal.

Rapunzel


Paul O. Zelinsky - 1997
    Zelinsky has once again with unmatched emotional authority, control of space, and narrativecapability brought forth a unique vision for an age-old tale. Few artists at work today can touch the level at which his paintings tell a story and exert their hold.Zelinsky's retelling of Rapunzel reaches back beyond the Grimms to a late-seventeenth-century French tale by Mlle. la Force, who based hers on the Neapolitan tale Petrosinella in a collection popular at the time. The artist understands the story's fundamentals to be about possessiveness, confinement, and separation, rather than about punishment and deprivation. Thus the tower the sorceress gives Rapunzel here is not a desolate, barren structure of denial but one of esoteric beauty on the outside and physical luxury within. And the world the artist creates through the elements in his paintings the palette, control of light, landscape, characters, architecture,interiors, costumes speaks to us not of an ugly witch who cruelly imprisons a beautiful young girl, but of a mother figure who powerfully resists her child's inevitable growth, and of a young woman and man who must struggle in the wilderness for the self-reliance that is the true beginningof their adulthood.As ever, and yet always somehow in newly arresting fashion, Paul O. Zelinsky's work thrillingly shows us the events of the story while guiding us beyond them to the truths that have made it endure.

A Sick Day for Amos McGee


Philip C. Stead - 2010
    Though he didn't make it into the zoo that day, he did receive some unexpected guests.Philip C. Stead's gently humorous tale of friendship and dedication is illustrated by his wife Erin E. Stead's elegant drawings, embellished with subtle hints of color.

Owen


Kevin Henkes - 1993
    Everywhere Owen goes, his blanket goes with him. Upstairs, downstairs, in-between. Inside, outside, upside down. Everywhere! Owen’s parents are in despair—soon Owen will begin school, and he can’t take Fuzzy with him then. Whatever can be done?This Caldecott Honor Book will provide reassurance and laughs whether shared at home or during circle time. Every child uses some sort of security object, whether it’s a toy, a thumb, or a binky. For those not yet ready to let go and for those who have moved on, here’s a story about making compromises that speaks to us all.Everyone who’s ever had a favorite blanket will know exactly how Owen feels!

The Gardener


Sarah Stewart - 1997
    There she initiates a gradual transformation, brightening the bakery and bringing smiles to customers' faces with the flowers she grows. But it is in a secret place that Lydia Grace works on her masterpiece, which she hopes will be powerful enough to make even Uncle Jim smile. Colored by a Depression-era setting, The Gardener introduces readers to a winsome young heroine, whose generosity will reward all who meet her. The Gardener is a 1997 New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of the Year and a 1998 Caldecott Honor Book.

Saint George and the Dragon


Margaret Hodges - 1984
    George and the Dragon commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the Caldecott Award-winning picture book. Hodges retells an exciting segment from Spenser's The Faerie Queene, in which the Red Cross Knight slays a dreadful dragon that has been terrorizing the countryside for years, bringing peace and joy back to the land. Featuring a fresh new cover design - with artwork that highlights the dragon adventure within - and distinctive embossed gold Caldecott Award sticker, this is the perfect way to introduce the classic tale to a whole new generation of readers.

All the World


Liz Garton Scanlon - 2009
     It is there. It is everywhere. All the world is right where you are. Now. Following a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning till night, this book affirms the importance of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky

The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses


Paul Goble - 1978
    A wild stallion becomes her friend and she decides to ride free with the herd even after she is found.

Prayer for a Child


Rachel Field - 1944
    Though it was written for one little girl, the prayer is for all boys and girls, and it carries a universal appeal for all ages and races.

Officer Buckle and Gloria


Peggy Rathmann - 1995
    A glorious picture book. -- The Horn BookRathmann is a quick rising star in the world of chidren's books. In this book, she again shows her flair for creating real characters, dramatic situations and for knowing what will make young audiences giggle and think. -- Children's Book Review MagazineRathman brings a lighter-than-air comic touch to this outstanding, solid-as-a-brick picture book. -- Publisher's WeeklyA five-star performance. -- School Library Journal

Tuesday


David Wiesner - 1991
    In the years that followed, he went on to receive two more Caldecotts, and Tuesday went on to sell half a million copies in the United States and to be published in a dozen foreign countries. Now, with remarkable advances in the technology of color reproduction, the original artwork for Tuesday is being reproduced anew, for an edition even more faithful to the palette and texture of David Wiesner’s watercolor paintings. The whimsical account of a Tuesday when frogs were airborne on their lily pads will continue to enchant readers of all ages.

A Story, a Story


Gail E. Haley - 1970
    He kept them in a box beside his throne. But Ananse, the Spider man, wanted them -- and caught three sly creatures to get them. This story of how we got our own stories to tell is adapted from an African folktale.