Caldecott Medal 1945: Complete list of winners

The 1945 Caldecott Medal arrived at a pivotal moment in American history, with World War II finally drawing to a close and the nation beginning to imagine peacetime once again. The American Library Association’s prestigious award for outstanding children’s picture books went to Elizabeth Orton Jones for Prayer for a Child, a gentle, spiritually-minded picture book that offered young readers a moment of quiet reflection amid turbulent times. Jones’s delicate illustrations and reverent approach to the subject matter resonated deeply with the Caldecott committee, marking a recognition that children’s literature could serve as a source of comfort and hope during uncertain years.

Prayer for a Child stands as a particularly significant winner in the Caldecott Medal’s history because it captured the zeitgeist of 1945—a year when Americans sought meaning, solace, and a return to foundational values. Elizabeth Orton Jones brought her considerable artistic talents to create illustrations that were both accessible to children and artistically sophisticated, a balance that has always defined the most enduring Caldecott honorees. The award underscored how picture books, often overlooked as mere entertainment, could address the deeper emotional and spiritual needs of young audiences during transformative historical moments.

Below, you’ll find the complete details of the 1945 Caldecott Medal winner and the artistic achievement it represented.

Picture Books

• Prayer for a Child by Elizabeth Orton Jones