An absorbing and informative picture of the world¿s most prestigious illustration award and 6 of its acclaimed winners: Robert McCloskey, Marcia Brown, Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Chris Van Allsburg, and David Wiesner. The intro. provides a historical perspective on Randolph Caldecott and the origins of the award named in his honor. Each of these 6 artists represents a decade of the award¿s history. Through personal anecdotes and glimpses of their prize-winning books as works-in-progress -- from doodles to sketches to dummies to finished art -- readers will find out how their favorite picture books were imagined and created. The artists reveal their inspirations, work processes, and their reactions to receiving this honor. Full-color illustrations.