1. Serena’s 10 Tips to Caldecott Recognition Serena Chidester Educ. 316 Children’s Literature 05/02/05

2. Establish yourself as an award winning illustrator If you can win one Caldecott honor, the chances of winning again increase dramatically. Tip #1

3. Talent has no expiration This tip relies heavily on the notion that you took tip #1 to heart and got the first win done and over with. If so, take your time working toward the second. Tip #2

4. When choosing between people and animals, there is no contest If you want to win, write about people Tip #3

5. Illustrate the human condition Assuming you followed tip #3 and used a story about people, illustrate life as a micro culture has experienced it Tip #4

6. People are suckers for the classics Retell a legend or fairy tale, they scare children but we still love them. Tip #5

7. The Color Decision- Go Rich and Deep Bright vs. Rich and Deep vs. Black and White Tip #6

8. Perfect your watercolor skills In a comparison of popular mediums, watercolors dominated the field. Tip #7

9. To write or just to illustrate…? It doesn’t actually matter! Tip #8

10. Illustrate a Picture Storybook By far the category of book most recognized is the picture storybook. Tip #9

11. Do Something Unique If you didn’t like any of my other tips, try something new and exciting Tip# 10