{"id":10386,"date":"2026-08-19T20:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T12:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=10386"},"modified":"2026-08-19T20:38:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T12:38:36","slug":"tomfoolery_2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2026\/08\/19\/tomfoolery_2023\/","title":{"rendered":"A delight\u00adful and live\u00adly ear\u00adly child\u00adhood biog\u00adra\u00adphy wor\u00adthy of a pio\u00adneer\u00ading mas\u00adter of pic\u00adture books"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u98de\u9a70\u7ae5\u5e74.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u98de\u9a70\u7ae5\u5e74.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u98de\u9a70\u7ae5\u5e74-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u98de\u9a70\u7ae5\u5e74-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u98de\u9a70\u7ae5\u5e74-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u98de\u9a70\u7ae5\u5e74-12x12.jpg 12w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pic\u00adture book enthu\u00adsi\u00adasts are cer\u00adtain\u00adly famil\u00adiar with the Calde\u00adcott Medal\u2014one of the world\u2019s most pres\u00adti\u00adgious and influ\u00aden\u00adtial awards for pic\u00adture books. But who exact\u00adly was Ran\u00addolph Calde\u00adcott (1846\u20131886), the man whose name was bor\u00adrowed for the award? Why was it named after him? What con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtions did he make to the world of pic\u00adture books? Who knows the answers to these ques\u00adtions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Writ\u00ading a book trac\u00ading the ori\u00adgins of Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s sto\u00adry would\u00adn\u2019t be too dif\u00adfi\u00adcult. The real chal\u00adlenge lies in telling this sto\u00adry in a way that con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary 4\u20138 year olds can under\u00adstand, con\u00adnect\u00ading young read\u00aders with an artist who lived a cen\u00adtu\u00adry and a half ago, and pre\u00adsent\u00ading it in pic\u00adture book form. How can this be achieved? *Tom\u00adfool\u00adery!: Ran\u00addolph Calde\u00adcott and the Ram\u00adbunc\u00adtious Com\u00ading-of-Age of Chil\u00addren\u2019s Books*, writ\u00adten by Michelle Markel and illus\u00adtrat\u00aded by Bar\u00adbara McClin\u00adtock, accom\u00adplish\u00ades this task per\u00adfect\u00adly. This vivid and engag\u00ading bio\u00adgraph\u00adi\u00adcal pic\u00adture book recounts Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s life and his rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion\u00adary con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtions to pic\u00adture books, mak\u00ading it suit\u00adable not only for young chil\u00addren but also for old\u00ader chil\u00addren and adults inter\u00adest\u00aded in the his\u00adto\u00adry of pic\u00adture books and fur\u00adther research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"565\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_08-09-1024x565.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_08-09-1024x565.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_08-09-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_08-09-768x424.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_08-09-1536x848.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_08-09-2048x1131.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_08-09-18x10.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The book is rough\u00adly divid\u00aded into two parts: the nar\u00adra\u00adtive and the ref\u00ader\u00adence sec\u00adtion. The first half, writ\u00adten in a tone geared towards a child audi\u00adence and accom\u00adpa\u00adnied by vivid illus\u00adtra\u00adtions, light\u00adly nar\u00adrates Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s jour\u00adney from a boy who loved draw\u00ading to an artist who rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion\u00adized chil\u00addren\u2019s pic\u00adture book illus\u00adtra\u00adtion. In intro\u00adduc\u00ading his child\u00adhood, career, and how he changed the face of chil\u00addren\u2019s books through his vibrant and humor\u00adous illus\u00adtra\u00adtions, pure\u00adly fac\u00adtu\u00adal details are omit\u00adted, instead rely\u00ading more on evoca\u00adtive lan\u00adguage and visu\u00adals to allow young read\u00aders to expe\u00adri\u00adence the sto\u00adry first\u00adhand. The illus\u00adtra\u00adtions in this sec\u00adtion are dynam\u00adic; young Calde\u00adcott is run\u00adning from the very begin\u00adning, and even lat\u00ader, when he sits down, whether at school or work\u00ading at the bank, he\u2019s con\u00adstant\u00adly draw\u00ading, with ani\u00admals seem\u00ading\u00adly leap\u00ading off the page. The over\u00adall style of the illus\u00adtra\u00adtions is cheer\u00adful and live\u00adly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an inter\u00adview, illus\u00adtra\u00adtor Bar\u00adbara said that the biggest chal\u00adlenge in cre\u00adat\u00ading this book\u2019s visu\u00adal nar\u00adra\u00adtive was mak\u00ading it relat\u00adable for today\u2019s young read\u00aders. After about a year of care\u00adful research, she found some tricks, one of which was the desk (or writ\u00ading desk) that Calde\u00adcott uses in the book. It appears repeat\u00aded\u00adly through\u00adout Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s childhood\u2014at home, at school, and at work. While peo\u00adple rarely use desks now, the way peo\u00adple used writ\u00ading desks in the past bears a strik\u00ading resem\u00adblance to how peo\u00adple use com\u00adput\u00aders today. Calde\u00adcott is always draw\u00ading, even dur\u00ading class or at work, and his teach\u00aders or col\u00adleagues enjoy watch\u00ading. Isn\u2019t that sim\u00adi\u00adlar to peo\u00adple watch\u00ading you use a com\u00adput\u00ader today? Bar\u00adbara makes the ani\u00admal fig\u00adures in Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s draw\u00adings fly off the page, tru\u00adly \u201cleap\u00ading off the page,\u201d just like let\u00adting read\u00aders see the noisy com\u00adput\u00ader screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"565\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_12-13-1024x565.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_12-13-1024x565.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_12-13-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_12-13-768x424.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_12-13-1536x848.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_12-13-2048x1131.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_12-13-18x10.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How\u00adev\u00ader, the cheer\u00adful and live\u00adly style is only one side of this book. The lat\u00adter half reveals its sol\u00adid and rig\u00ador\u00adous research, includ\u00ading detailed anno\u00adta\u00adtions, back\u00adground infor\u00adma\u00adtion, a bib\u00adli\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy of Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s works, and the sources of ref\u00ader\u00adences used in cre\u00adat\u00ading the book. This pro\u00advides clues for fur\u00adther in-depth research, allow\u00ading read\u00aders to learn more about Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s life and artis\u00adtic achieve\u00adments. Although this is a bio\u00adgraph\u00adi\u00adcal pic\u00adture book suit\u00adable for read\u00aders as young as four or five, the author still adheres quite rig\u00ador\u00adous\u00adly to gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly accept\u00aded aca\u00add\u00ade\u00adm\u00adic stan\u00addards, pro\u00advid\u00ading a valu\u00adable ref\u00ader\u00adence for those cre\u00adat\u00ading sim\u00adi\u00adlar non-fic\u00adtion pic\u00adture books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"565\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_36-37-1024x565.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_36-37-1024x565.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_36-37-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_36-37-768x424.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_36-37-1536x848.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_36-37-2048x1131.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_36-37-18x10.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"565\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_38-39-1024x565.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10391\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_38-39-1024x565.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_38-39-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_38-39-768x424.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_38-39-1536x848.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_38-39-2048x1131.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_38-39-18x10.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fact, even the illus\u00adtra\u00adtor, while try\u00ading to pique young read\u00aders\u2019 inter\u00adest in Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s life sto\u00adry, also made every effort to ensure the visu\u00adal infor\u00adma\u00adtion was sol\u00adid and rig\u00ador\u00adous. Every image ele\u00adment in the book under\u00adwent metic\u00adu\u00adlous research and restora\u00adtion. Take, for exam\u00adple, the scene depict\u00ading Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s arrival in Lon\u00addon in 1872. The illus\u00adtra\u00adtor had to first ensure that the build\u00adings in the back\u00adground were accu\u00adrate to that year; for instance, Big Ben on the oth\u00ader side of the Thames def\u00adi\u00adnite\u00adly exist\u00aded, hav\u00ading been com\u00adplet\u00aded in 1859. Then there were the lamp\u00adposts by the bridge, which she need\u00aded to accu\u00adrate\u00adly recre\u00adate from pho\u00adtographs of the time. The most chal\u00adleng\u00ading part was the \u201cdiverse crowds,\u201d where the illus\u00adtra\u00adtor had to depict peo\u00adple from all walks of life in Lon\u00addon dur\u00ading the lat\u00adter half of the 19th cen\u00adtu\u00adry: mem\u00adbers of par\u00adlia\u00adment, com\u00admon\u00aders and nobles, mid\u00addle-class men and women, and the low\u00ader class\u00ades sell\u00ading art or news\u00adpa\u00adpers on the streets, adults and chil\u00addren, and of course, ani\u00admals to add atmos\u00adphere to the scene. This pic\u00adture book pos\u00adsess\u00ades both the rig\u00ador of non-fic\u00adtion edu\u00adca\u00adtion\u00adal books and the live\u00adly fun of fic\u00adtion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"565\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_16-17-1024x565.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_16-17-1024x565.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_16-17-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_16-17-768x424.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_16-17-1536x848.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_16-17-2048x1131.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_16-17-18x10.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bar\u00adbara poured her heart and soul into illus\u00adtrat\u00ading this book, spend\u00ading a year on in-depth research and revis\u00ading the cov\u00ader alone at least four times. But she had no regrets about this ded\u00adi\u00adca\u00adtion, because she loved the book so much. In an inter\u00adview, she said she had a deep fas\u00adci\u00adna\u00adtion with Calde\u00adcott (adding a note ask\u00ading her not to tell her hus\u00adband). She has always con\u00adsid\u00adered Calde\u00adcott her idol, or rather, her men\u00adtor in pic\u00adture book cre\u00adation. More\u00adover, she found sev\u00ader\u00adal sim\u00adi\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adties between her\u00adself and Calde\u00adcott, such as their insa\u00adtiable love of draw\u00ading from a young age, their fond\u00adness for draw\u00ading cheer\u00adful ani\u00admals and dynam\u00adic, live\u00adly scenes, and their self-taught approach to chil\u00addren\u2019s book illus\u00adtra\u00adtion\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bar\u00adbara\u2019s sto\u00adry of becom\u00ading a self-taught illus\u00adtra\u00adtor is some\u00adwhat leg\u00adendary. The most fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading part is that when she turned 20, she was study\u00ading at Jamestown Col\u00adlege (now Jamestown Uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty) in North Dako\u00adta, but she longed to draw pic\u00adture books. How\u00adev\u00ader, in the ear\u00adly 1970s, there weren\u2019t many rel\u00ade\u00advant majors to pur\u00adsue. Bar\u00adbara great\u00adly admired Mau\u00adrice Sendak because she par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly loved his nov\u00adel *Mid\u00adnight Kitchen*, pub\u00adlished a few years ear\u00adli\u00ader, and believed Sendak must know how to draw pic\u00adture books. Know\u00ading only that Sendak lived some\u00adwhere in Con\u00adnecti\u00adcut, she looked up his home phone num\u00adber in a pub\u00adlic phone book and, \u201cnaive\u00adly,\u201d called direct\u00adly to ask for advice. Not only did Sendak answer the phone him\u00adself, but he also had a very pleas\u00adant 20-minute phone con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion with the girl he had nev\u00ader met before, telling her how to pre\u00adpare for cre\u00adation and sub\u00admis\u00adsion, how to pre\u00adpare her port\u00adfo\u00adlio for exhi\u00adbi\u00adtion, and more impor\u00adtant\u00adly, \u201cdon\u2019t go to art school,\u201d but try to learn on your own, prefer\u00adably by mov\u00ading to New York and mak\u00ading full use of pub\u00adlic libraries\u2026 Not long after, Bar\u00adbara real\u00adly went to New York and began her jour\u00adney of self-study and cre\u00adation of pic\u00adture books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"520\" height=\"924\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barbara_McClintock_2011.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10393\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barbara_McClintock_2011.jpg 520w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barbara_McClintock_2011-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Barbara_McClintock_2011-7x12.jpg 7w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"796\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u963f\u9edb\u5c14\u548c\u897f\u8499-796x1024.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u963f\u9edb\u5c14\u548c\u897f\u8499-796x1024.jpg 796w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u963f\u9edb\u5c14\u548c\u897f\u8499-233x300.jpg 233w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u963f\u9edb\u5c14\u548c\u897f\u8499-768x988.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u963f\u9edb\u5c14\u548c\u897f\u8499-9x12.jpg 9w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u963f\u9edb\u5c14\u548c\u897f\u8499.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of Bar\u00adbara McClin\u00adtock\u00ad\u2019s self-writ\u00adten and illus\u00adtrat\u00aded works, or those for which she also pro\u00advid\u00aded the illus\u00adtra\u00adtions, have been intro\u00adduced to Chi\u00adna. These include *Adele and Simon* and its two sequels, *Where Are You, Mom?*, *Mary and the Lit\u00adtle Mouse\u2019s Secret*, and *Noth\u00ading Can Stop Sophie*, as well as the eight-book \u201cBar\u00adbara McClin\u00adtock Clas\u00adsic Pic\u00adture Book\u201d series, the most famous of which are *The Gin\u00adger\u00adbread Man* and *Grand\u00adpa\u2019s Over\u00adcoat*. Bar\u00adbara loved and excelled at draw\u00ading sto\u00adries that tran\u00adscend\u00aded time, tak\u00ading read\u00aders on a jour\u00adney to a spe\u00adcif\u00adic place at a spe\u00adcif\u00adic point in time. Such jour\u00adneys are indeed very suit\u00adable for pic\u00adture books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was dur\u00ading these trav\u00adels that Bar\u00adbara \u201cmet\u201d artists like Ran\u00addolph Calde\u00adcott and Ran\u00addolph Sendak. Her pic\u00adture book cre\u00adations have their own style, but are also deeply influ\u00adenced by these pre\u00adde\u00adces\u00adsors. In *Child\u00adhood at First Sight: The Pic\u00adture Book Era Ush\u00adered in by Ran\u00addolph Calde\u00adcott*, near the end of the sto\u00adry, when she\u2019s about to show \u201cWhat exact\u00adly did Ran\u00addolph Calde\u00adcott do?\u2026 Calde\u00adcott achieved tremen\u00addous inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal suc\u00adcess,\u201d Bar\u00adbara dis\u00adplays some of Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s paint\u00adings in the upper half of the page, while the low\u00ader half uses many fig\u00adures to illus\u00adtrate Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s impact on the world. Par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly inter\u00adest\u00ading is the illus\u00adtra\u00adtion on the right page, where nine con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary pic\u00adture book illus\u00adtra\u00adtors are min\u00adgling with chil\u00addren who love lis\u00adten\u00ading to sto\u00adries. The most rec\u00adog\u00adniz\u00adable is Sendak sit\u00adting in an arm\u00adchair, and the green-clad, white-haired female illus\u00adtra\u00adtor sit\u00adting at Sendak\u2019s feet, draw\u00ading for the chil\u00addren, is like\u00adly Bar\u00adbara her\u00adself. In the illus\u00adtra\u00adtion, Bar\u00adbara\u2019s draw\u00ading pos\u00adture, espe\u00adcial\u00adly the way she holds the paint\u00adbrush with her left hand, com\u00adple\u00adments the image of Calde\u00adcott draw\u00ading for chil\u00addren on the left page. The oth\u00ader sev\u00aden illus\u00adtra\u00adtors stand\u00ading and read\u00ading in the right-hand image are report\u00aded\u00adly Calde\u00adcott Medal win\u00adners, hold\u00ading their award-win\u00adning works. \u2014Can you rec\u00adog\u00adnize them? (This is a bit dif\u00adfi\u00adcult; I myself could\u00adn\u2019t rec\u00adog\u00adnize two of them!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"565\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_32-33-1024x565.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_32-33-1024x565.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_32-33-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_32-33-768x424.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_32-33-1536x848.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_32-33-2048x1131.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_32-33-18x10.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This dou\u00adble-page spread fea\u00adtures nine famous pic\u00adture book artists\u2014can you rec\u00adog\u00adnize them?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s talk about the author of this book, Michelle Markle. While she has\u00adn\u2019t had any works intro\u00adduced to Chi\u00adna before, she\u2019s a very accom\u00adplished female writer, espe\u00adcial\u00adly skilled in non-fic\u00adtion pic\u00adture books. She has writ\u00adten bio\u00adgraph\u00adi\u00adcal pic\u00adture books for fig\u00adures such as the French Post-Impres\u00adsion\u00adist painter Hen\u00adri Rousseau, the British-Mex\u00adi\u00adcan Sur\u00adre\u00adal\u00adist artist Leono\u00adra Car\u00adring\u00adton, the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan union leader (who led a gar\u00adment work\u00aders\u2019 strike) Clara Lem\u00adledge, and the famous politi\u00adcian Hillary Clin\u00adton. This isn\u2019t her first time writ\u00ading biogra\u00adphies of pio\u00adneer\u00ading fig\u00adures in chil\u00addren\u2019s lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture. In 2017, she pub\u00adlished *Balder\u00addash!: John New\u00adbery and the Bois\u00adter\u00adous Birth of Chil\u00addren\u2019s Books* (not yet avail\u00adable in Chi\u00adnese). As the title sug\u00adgests, this is a pic\u00adture book biog\u00adra\u00adphy of John New\u00adbery, the cre\u00adator of the chil\u00addren\u2019s book for which the New\u00adbery Medal is named, and its struc\u00adture is very sim\u00adi\u00adlar to this Calde\u00adcott pic\u00adture book biog\u00adra\u00adphy. In oth\u00ader words, the two books are clear\u00adly sis\u00adter books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"883\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Balderdash-1024x883.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Balderdash-1024x883.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Balderdash-300x259.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Balderdash-768x663.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Balderdash-14x12.jpg 14w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Balderdash.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For younger chil\u00addren, read\u00ading these two books will pro\u00advide an overview of New\u00adbery and Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s ear\u00adly life. How\u00adev\u00ader, for old\u00ader chil\u00addren or adults, these books offer a deep\u00ader under\u00adstand\u00ading of these two pio\u00adneers, show\u00ading how they rev\u00ado\u00adlu\u00adtion\u00adized tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal chil\u00addren\u2019s book con\u00adcepts and shaped the con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary land\u00adscape of chil\u00addren\u2019s lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture. Regard\u00ading Calde\u00adcott specif\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly, there\u2019s anoth\u00ader excel\u00adlent illus\u00adtrat\u00aded ref\u00ader\u00adence book that\u2019s par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly acces\u00adsi\u00adble: *Ran\u00addolph Calde\u00adcott: The Man Who Could Not Stop Draw\u00ading* by Amer\u00adi\u00adcan chil\u00addren\u2019s book his\u00adto\u00adri\u00adan Leonard Mar\u00adcus. This book pro\u00advides a com\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsive overview of Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s life and artis\u00adtic achieve\u00adments. Through detailed research and vivid nar\u00adra\u00adtion, Mar\u00adcus demon\u00adstrates how Calde\u00adcott trans\u00adformed chil\u00addren\u2019s pic\u00adture books with his inno\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive illus\u00adtra\u00adtion style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u51ef\u8fea\u514b-\u6c38\u4e0d\u505c\u7b14\u7684\u63d2\u753b\u5bb6.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u51ef\u8fea\u514b-\u6c38\u4e0d\u505c\u7b14\u7684\u63d2\u753b\u5bb6.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u51ef\u8fea\u514b-\u6c38\u4e0d\u505c\u7b14\u7684\u63d2\u753b\u5bb6-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u51ef\u8fea\u514b-\u6c38\u4e0d\u505c\u7b14\u7684\u63d2\u753b\u5bb6-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u51ef\u8fea\u514b-\u6c38\u4e0d\u505c\u7b14\u7684\u63d2\u753b\u5bb6-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u51ef\u8fea\u514b-\u6c38\u4e0d\u505c\u7b14\u7684\u63d2\u753b\u5bb6-12x12.jpg 12w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inter\u00adest\u00ading\u00adly, I care\u00adful\u00adly com\u00adpared the bib\u00adli\u00adogra\u00adphies of Markle and Mar\u00adcus\u2019s books, and found that the vast major\u00adi\u00adty of them over\u00adlapped. Their sources were very sim\u00adi\u00adlar, but their approach\u00ades and nar\u00adra\u00adtive styles dif\u00adfered. Mar\u00adcus focused on adult read\u00aders, telling the sto\u00adry from a broad\u00ader per\u00adspec\u00adtive of chil\u00addren\u2019s book his\u00adto\u00adry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have also done some research on the life of Calde\u00adcott and relat\u00aded fig\u00adures, which I have com\u00adpiled in my book *A Brief His\u00adto\u00adry of Pic\u00adture Books*. I believe that Beat\u00adrix Pot\u00adter\u2019s *The Tale of Peter Rab\u00adbit* is the pio\u00adneer\u00ading work of mod\u00adern pic\u00adture books, but Miss Pot\u00adter was actu\u00adal\u00adly deeply influ\u00adenced by the three giants of Vic\u00adto\u00adri\u00adan chil\u00addren\u2019s book illustration\u2014Walter Crane, Kate Green\u00adaway, and Ran\u00addolph Calde\u00adcott, espe\u00adcial\u00adly Calde\u00adcott. Miss Pot\u00adter once said, \u201cIf I\u2019ve ever thought about imi\u00adtat\u00ading any\u00adone in my life, it\u2019s Calde\u00adcott.\u201d\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u56fe\u753b\u4e66\u5c0f\u53f2\u7f8e\u56fe-1024x1024.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u56fe\u753b\u4e66\u5c0f\u53f2\u7f8e\u56fe-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u56fe\u753b\u4e66\u5c0f\u53f2\u7f8e\u56fe-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u56fe\u753b\u4e66\u5c0f\u53f2\u7f8e\u56fe-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u56fe\u753b\u4e66\u5c0f\u53f2\u7f8e\u56fe-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u56fe\u753b\u4e66\u5c0f\u53f2\u7f8e\u56fe-12x12.jpg 12w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/\u56fe\u753b\u4e66\u5c0f\u53f2\u7f8e\u56fe.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sad\u00adly, Calde\u00adcott died of ill\u00adness dur\u00ading his trav\u00adels before the age of 40, a tru\u00adly regret\u00adtable loss. There\u00adfore, in the book I lament\u00aded: \u201cSome\u00adtimes I can\u2019t help but won\u00adder, if Calde\u00adcott had lived to 1902 (which would have meant he was only 56 years old), would peo\u00adple have even noticed Miss Pot\u00adter\u2019s bril\u00adliance?\u201d\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although his\u00adto\u00adry can\u00adnot be changed, thank\u00adful\u00adly there are pic\u00adture books like *Child\u00adhood Dreams: The Pic\u00adture Book Era Ush\u00adered in by Calde\u00adcott*, allow\u00ading us to redis\u00adcov\u00ader Calde\u00adcott and rethink the pro\u00adfound sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcance of pic\u00adture books for us on a spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal jour\u00adney across time. Such a live\u00adly and joy\u00adful yet rig\u00ador\u00adous biog\u00adra\u00adphy of ear\u00adly child\u00adhood enlight\u00aden\u00adment is wor\u00adthy of this mas\u00adter who died young but whose bril\u00adliance remains undi\u00admin\u00adished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-paragraph\">Writ\u00adten by A\u2011Jia on July 27, 2024 in Bei\u00adjing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"565\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_30-31-1024x565.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-10401\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_30-31-1024x565.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_30-31-300x166.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_30-31-768x424.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_30-31-1536x848.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_30-31-2048x1131.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_30-31-18x10.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2014\u2014\u8bc4\u300a\u98de\u9a70\u7ae5\u5e74\uff1a\u51ef\u8fea\u514b\u5f00\u542f\u7684\u56fe\u753b\u4e66\u65f6\u4ee3\u300b\uff08Tomfoolery! : RANDOLPH CALDECOTT and the RAMBUNCTIOUS COM\u00adING-of-AGE of CHILDREN\u2019S BOOKS<br>\n)<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,498,12],"tags":[8,406,5,6],"class_list":["post-10386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-498","category-ajia-review","tag-8","tag-406","tag-5","tag-6"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/spread_32-33-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10386"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10402,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10386\/revisions\/10402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}