Tomfoolery! : Randolph Caldecott and the rambunctious coming-of-age of children's books /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2023

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2023



FIVE STARRED REVIEWS!

"Exuberant."― Horn Book Magazine , starred review

"Excellent."-- Booklist , starred review

"Storytelling at its best."-- Kirkus , starred review

"Enduringly appealing."-- School Library Journal , starred review

"[A] lively portrait."-- Publishers Weekly , starred review

Meet Randolph Caldecott, the artist who revolutionized picture book illustration and for whom the prestigious Caldecott medal is named! From acclaimed picture book creators Michelle Markel and Barbara McClintock comes a lively, humorous, and energetically informative biography that celebrates the spirit of storytelling in art.



Quick! If you don't move fast, you'll miss him--there he goes--Randolph Caldecott, future famous illustrator. His sketchbook is full of hurly-burly: wild weather, frisky animals, and people so sprightly they can barely hold onto the pages. But in the 1850s, there were no children's books like that. Not yet.



Many books are published, but their pictures look stiff, full of pretty poses and cluttered scenery. No one has imagined how much fun an illustrated book could be because the future hero of children's book illustration is still just a lad. Join Michelle Markel and Barbara McClintock for a riotous adventure through the seminal history of children's books--their art, their joy, and the man who changed them for good.



[Tomfoolery noun : silliness, shenanigans, buffoonery, skylarking, or pranks]



FASCINATING TRUE STORY: This picture book biography introduces readers to the man who redefined children's books, transforming the reading experience of people all around the world! Anyone who loves history, biographies, or books for children will find themselves charmed by this lively look at the life of Randolph Caldecott.



WHIMSICAL AND ENGAGING: Full of verve and fun, humor and dynamic vocabulary, this book is history with pure delight, sure to engage even the most reluctant readers!



FUN AND INSPIRING GIFT BOOK: With compelling visual storytelling and an inspiring role model for aspiring writers, illustrators, and creatives, this picture book makes a great gift for any giving occasion.



PERFECT FOR MOCK CALDECOTTS: Teachers and librarians who introduce the Caldecott Medal and its voting process to kids will find this invaluable as an introduction to looking at, thinking about, and celebrating art.



Perfect for: Anyone who loves or wants to learn more about kids' books and children's book illustration Librarians, educators, and parents of kids who love history and nonfiction Aspiring picture book writers and illustrators of any age Fans of true stories, biographies, and fascinating facts Special occasion or thank you gift for teachers and librarians

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Randolph Caldecott (1846--1886) was one of the first artists to illustrate children's books with an eye toward merriment rather than morality, so it's not surprising that this action-oriented biography by Markel (Out of This World) offers "a hero so chipper he can barely hold still on the paper." Working in watercolor and pen and ink, McClintock (Vroom!) first shows Caldecott as a bearded young man pulling back an outsize book page to reveal a throng of his drawings come to life. As a boy, Caldecott sketches the animals he loves in motion; as a young man, he confounds his father's efforts to make him a banker, draws during work hours, and works to improve his skill. Soon, he's an artist with an offer to illustrate books for children, and "he likes what kids like--action!" Here, reproductions of Caldecott's own real-life images enter the book as he enjoys his first publishing success. The historical moment of this innovation is captured with verve and verb-forward flourishes in this lively portrait of a person whose illustration style still inspires contemporary picture book creators, some of whose portraits are slipped into a final scene. Characters are presented with various skin tones. Ages 5--8. (Nov.)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 1--3--In a history that gallops along like John Gilpin's horse, Markel traces the career of a lad mad for drawing, who switched careers midstream from banking to art and after some low points ("Sometimes, on his letters, he draws himself as a sad, frumpled cartoon") went on to replace the "pretty poses and cluttered scenery" of the Victorian era's picture books with images still notable for their unrestrained energy and humor. McClintock evokes that energy by incorporating samples of Caldecott's art (and, for contrast, examples from stodgier tomes) into her finely drawn views of livestock scurrying underfoot or streaming from sketchbook pages. She also dresses up a busy multiethnic crowd of city and country folk first in period dress, then in modern attire to link past audiences to present ones. In end notes the author fills in some biographical details, with nods to Caldecott's publisher and contemporaries Kate Greenaway and Walter Crane. Readers open to more than just a taste of his distinctive works and sketches of his life and times will find Leonard Marcus's Randolph Caldecott: The Man Who Could Not Stop Drawing well worth the plunge--but this brief tribute gets to the heart of what makes his work so enduringly appealing. VERDICT If Marcus still rules the roost, here's a high-stepping alternative for younger readers.--John Edward Peters

Booklist Review

Who was Randolph Caldecott, and why is there an award named for him? Librarians hear that question every year around awards season. From his childhood in the English countryside, where he preferred drawing animals in motion to studying sums, through his young adulthood, when he worked in a bank but developed his skills as an artist, Caldecott's life and artwork are effectively linked. McClintock incorporates reproductions of Caldecott's art into her own visual narrative and includes a key in the back matter to help readers identify which elements are his. Markel's lively, well-documented text functions alongside McClintock's innovative black-ink-and-watercolor compositions and design work by Jennifer Tolo Pierce to give the impression of a book within a book, where real people interact with Caldecott's creations and the time line is both past and present. Details about what makes a great picture book are seamlessly integrated, which could be applied to current Caldecott winners as McClintock also includes portraits of several Caldecott-winning artists. This follow-up to the author's earlier Balderdash! John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children's Books (2017) is another excellent resource, one that explains not only who Randolph Caldecott was but also why his approach to illustrating books for children has had a lasting impact.

Horn Book Review

British illustrator Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886) transformed illustrated books for children ("stiff, full of pretty poses and cluttered scenery") into picture books (ones that featured stories that "tumble[d] forth like life"). Markel briefly covers Caldecott's boyhood, emphasizing his love of drawing and of the outdoors, the latter despite a weak heart. She speaks directly to readers, telling them to move fast ("Quick!") or they'll miss the boy McClintock depicts as racing across the page. As an adult, Caldecott works in a bank but keeps drawing and begins illustrating travel books and, eventually, books for children. Markel emphasizes the artist's ability to capture action on the page and fills this lively text with bustling active verbs (lunging, strutting, pounce), set off in larger letters and a different font color. Likewise, McClintock's exquisite, energetic illustrations depict Caldecott at the drawing board, creatures bursting forth from his paper. Several instances in the book reproduce the artist's drawings, and one stunning wordless spread showcases the illustration from The Diverting History of John Gilpin that adorns the Caldecott Medal. (The book's abundant back matter includes notes on where Caldecott's art appears in the book.) Children and/or animals appear on nearly every spread of this exuberant tribute to the illustrator who revolutionized children's books. Julie DanielsonSeptember/October 2023 p.98 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

The career of one of our most famous picture-book artists comes rip-roaringly to life! Why on earth should kids care about the life of Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886)? Because he brought fun to the picture-book page! From the start, readers are promised "frisky animals, sprightly characters, and a hero so chipper he can barely hold still on the paper." This book is nothing like the children's books of old, which were uninspired, static, and often downright dull. As a child, Caldecott was delighted with animals, sketching them and their movements. He grew up to become a banker and made a living illustrating magazines and newspapers. Given the chance to illustrate a book for children, he filled the pages with what he'd learned. Infused with the sheer energy and joy of the subject matter, McClintock's art pops and bubbles on the page. She deftly interweaves reproductions of Caldecott's own illustrations with her own into a seamless whole, one picture often in play with the next. This is no stodgy biography--Markel's enthusiasm is well matched by McClintock's own (and adults may enjoy identifying the nine illustrators, eight of them, so far, Caldecott Medal winners, gracing one of the book's pages). Markel has crafted a fine companion to her previous bio of John Newbery, Balderdash! (2017), illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. A cacophony of verve and frolic, this is biographical storytelling at its absolute best. (annotations, endnotes, bibliographies) (Picture-book biography. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Michelle Markel writes informative, enjoyable children's books at her home in Los Angeles, California. She's the author of Tyrannosaurus Math (a CCBC Choices Reading List selection), The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau (a PEN/Steven Kroll Award winner and a Parents' Choice Gold Award winner), and Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers' Strike of 1909 (a Jane Addams Children's Book Award winner, a Bank Street College of Education Flora Stieglitz Straus Award winner, and an NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor book). Visit her at michellemarkel.com.



Barbara McClintock has written and/or illustrated over forty books for children, including her highly acclaimed Adèle and Simon series. Her books have received five New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book awards, three ALA Notable Children's Book citations, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor, and two Golden Kite honors, as well as many other accolades, best book selections, and starred reviews. A self-taught artist, McClintock discovered the work of Randolph Caldecott when she was in her early twenties, and he became a mentor, inspiration, and kindred spirit to her. McClintock lives in Windham, Connecticut, with her partner, the illustrator David A. Johnson, and their four demonstrative cats. You can find her online at barbaramcclintockbooks.com.