Children/Young Adult Book Awards: 1960-1969

When the Czar proclaims that he will marry his daughter to the man who brings him a flying ship, the Fool of the World sets out to try his luck and meets some unusual companions on the way.

Sun and his wife, the moon, lived on Earth and built a large house so that the water people could visit. But so many poured in that they were forced to move to the sky.

Ed Emberley won the 1968 Caldecott Medal for his bold illustrations for Barbara Emberley's jaunty adaptation of the cumulative folk song about seven soldiers who build a magnificent cannon and Drummer Hoff, who fires it off.

While the other field mice work to gather grain and nuts for winter, Frederick sits on a sunny rock by himself. “I gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days,” he tells them. Another day he gathers “colors,” and then “words.” And when the food runs out, it is Frederick, the dreamer and poet, whose endless store of supplies warms the hearts of his fellow mice, and feeds their spirits during the darkest winter days.

Largely ignored by her own family, Princess Djeow Seow spends her days playing with a kite made from paper and sticks. But when the Emperor is imprisoned in a high tower, only the Princess can save the day, flying her kite high up into the sky to rescue her father.

Yashima's Seashore Story tells of a group of modern children who visit an island off the tip of southern Japan; the locale reminds them of an ancient tale. In the story within the story, a fisherman saves the life of a sea turtle, which takes him on an underwater journey to live blissfully in a palace in the sea. After missing his family, he asks to return and finds that so much time has passed that no one recognizes him and his family is all gone. The story concludes as the children discuss the story, debating the moral. Lost in thought, the ocean breeze and setting sun engross the children. The text of the story runs along the bottom of the pages, each with a different illustration, which bleed to the edge of the pages. The illustrations, done in watercolor and pastels, capture the feeling of the seashore and the underwater environment, with soft misty shapes and fluid lines. The illustrations are more abstract than representational and leave the details of the story to the imagination.

Samantha (known as Sam) is a fisherman’s daughter who dreams rich and lovely dreams--moonshine, her father says. But when her tall stories bring disaster to her friend Thomas and her cat Bangs, Sam learns to distinguish between moonshine and reality.

Woodcut illustrations and brief text from an American folk song relate the story of the animals on Noah's ark.

Lachie MacLachlan, the generous hero of this enchanting tale, is the exception to the rule that the Scots are a thrifty lot. In his "wee house in the heather," where he lives with his family of twelve, he welcomes to his hearth every weary traveler who passes by on a stormy night. "There's always room for one more," says Lachie, and how his grateful guests say a wonderful "Thank you" provides a delightfully warm and tender ending to this hilarious tale of kindness.

In a Cape Cod seaside village, the children romp and play throughout a heavy fog with strange and mysterious effects.

Like his distant cousin Rumplestiltskin, Tom Tit Tot is a small, magical creature who offers to help a young woman with her impossible sewing requirements. In the kind of comedy of errors that can only occur in English folk tales, the heroine eats too many pies, marries a king who has eyes only for her spinning wheel, and makes a deal to save her life. The only question is, can she guess her benefactor's name and prevent trading one form of servitude for another?

A little boy mimes the walk of the animals he sees.

One day, a small boy receives a very special invitation -- the King and the Queen have invited him to the castle for tea. He accepts, with one question: "May I bring a friend?"

"Any friend of our friend is welcome her," says the King. But their guest's friend turns out to be someone they never expected!

A classic volume of nonsense verse with a real story cleverly hidden inside the illustrations

Long ago in Japan a village stood beside the sea. When the water was calm, the village children played in the gentle waves, shouting and laughing.

One afternoon late in August, before the start of a new school year, Jay finds Cricket. Cricket fits just right in small spaces-like under a tea strainer or in Jay's very own pocket-and Cricket makes the most exciting sounds. But what happens when it's time to go back to school? Will Cricket come too?

The wild things--with their mismatched parts and giant eyes--manage somehow to be scary-looking without ever really being scary; at times they're downright hilarious. Sendak's defiantly run-on sentences--one of his trademarks--lend the perfect touch of stream of consciousness to the tale, which floats between the land of dreams and a child's imagination.

Deep in the sea there lives a happy school of little fish. Their watery world is full of wonders, but there is also danger, and the little fish are afraid to come out of hiding . . . until Swimmy comes along. Swimmy shows his friends how—with ingenuity and team work—they can overcome any danger.

An illustrated collection of over 70 traditional verses.

A young man named Sandy is sent to the miller to have him grind his sack of corn into meal. Along the way he meets many travelers who join him on his journey. This is a cumulative counting tale with a rhyming refrain illustrated with woodcuts colored with an earth tone palette.

The Snowy Day is the simple tale of a boy waking up to discover that snow has fallen during the night. Keats's illustrations, using cut-outs, watercolors, and collage, are strikingly beautiful in their understated color and composition. The tranquil story mirrors the calm presence of the paintings, and both exude the silence of a freshly snow-covered landscape. The little boy celebrates the snow-draped city with a day of humble adventures--experimenting with footprints, knocking snow from a tree, creating snow angels, and trying to save a snowball for the next day. Awakening to a winter wonderland is an ageless, ever-magical experience, and one made nearly visceral by Keats's gentle tribute.

The author of such classics as My Granson Lew, Williams's Doll, and Over and Over needs no introduction. Neither does her collaborator Maurice Sendak, who has illustrated so many of today's best-loved, as well as most distinguised, books for children. The heroine of their book has a problem. And at first it does not look as though Mr. Rabbit is going to be much help in solving it . For everyone knows you cannot give your mother a red roof, a yellow taxi-cab, a green caterpillar, or a blue lake for her birthday. But then all the little girl had said was that her mother liked red, yellow, green and blue -- and so Mr. Rabbit was trying.How he and the liitle girl come up with the absolutely perfect present makes a story the the youngest reader will love. And the wonderously bright full-color pictures will bring hours of pleasure to readers and lookers of all ages.

Collection of sayings about items in the sky - sun, moon, clouds, storms

A hermit knows the magic to change a small mouse into a cat, a dog, and a majestic tiger -- and Marcia Brown's magical woodcuts bring this Indian fable to life with the mastery that won her her second Caldecott Medal.

Mrs. Minarik is at her superb best in depicting the charming childlikeness of Little Bear’s delight in visiting his grandparents.

A timeless folk song provides inspiration for some of the funniest, brightest drawings Peter Spier has ever produced. In the song, a fox forages for food in the village to bring to his family back in the den. The music is also included so everyone can sing along.

This is a very good story about a sister and brother getting up early berfore the sun and then observing the sun during the day. That night their mother tells them a story and facts about the sun they try out.

The Russian folktale about an old woman's endless search for the Christ child.

A small green inchworm is proud of his skill at measuring anything—a robin’s tail, a flamingo’s neck, a toucan’s beak. Then one day a nightingale threatens to eat him if he cannot measure his song.

Ceci's first Christmas posada party and pinata have made her Mexican town come alive for generations of readers. "The youngest child will be completely transported by this lovely story."--The Atlantic

Maurice Sendak's wondrous starry skies and Janice May Udry's evocative text immediately transport us back to cool, moonlit nights and fill us with the universal warmth of childhood.

Two children find shells at the beach. The story provides the name for each shell they find and a little explanation about its name.