Upon publication, Anita Silvey’s comprehensive survey of contemporary children’s literature, Children’s Books and Their Creators, garnered unanimous praise from librarians, educators, and specialists interested in the world of writing for children. Now The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators assembles the best of that volume in one handy, affordable reference, geared specifically to parents, educators, and students. This new volume introduces readers to the wealth of children’s literature by focusing on the essentials — the best books for children, the ones that inform, impress, and, most important, excite young readers. Updated to include newcomers such as J. K. Rowling and Lemony Snicket and to cover the very latest on publishing and educational trends, this edition features more than 475 entries on the best-loved children’s authors and illustrators, numerous essays on social and historical issues, thirty personal glimpses into craft by well-known writers, illustrators, and critics, and invaluable reading lists by category. The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators summarizes the canon of contemporary children’s literature, in a practical guide essential for anyone choosing a book for or working with children.

Unique in its coverage of contemporary American children's literature, this timely, single-volume reference covers the books our children are--or should be--reading now, from board books to young adult novels. Enriched with dozens of color illustrations and the voices of authors and illustrators themselves, it is a cornucopia of delight. 23 color, 153 b&w illustrations.

First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Why use picture books with children? -- Extending picture books through art -- Extending picture books through drama -- Extending picture books through music -- Extending picture books through math -- Extending picture books through science.

"Honest and precise... everything about writing for children there is to know." --Jane Yolen, author Here is the comprehensive guide to writing, publishing, and selling for the ever-expanding and always exciting children's market--now in a new and updated third edition. * Includes new chapters on self-publishing and on "how to choose a how-to", plus revision and updates throughout * Offers practical advice on getting started--and on dealing with out-of-print books * Covers picture books, chapter books, nonfiction, middle-grade and young novels, and common formats and genres * Reveals what happens inside a children's publishing company, and provides guidance in working with an editor * Sample cover and query letters, manuscript format, glossary, and recommended resources in an extensive appendix * Plus information on agents, contracts, copyright, marketing, and more

Provides articles covering children's literature from around the world as well as biographical and critical reviews of authors including Avi, C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, and Anno Mitsumasa.

It is a place where ogres and wizards live in enchanted forests. It is also the home of editors, publishers, art directors, and marketers. It is the world of children's book publishing. For writers who hope to have their stories published, though, it has always been one of the most confusing places to navigate -- until now. Based on a career of two decades, award-winning writer Liza N. Burby has put together a complete guide to making the right children's book publisher say yes. "How to Publish Your Children's Book" starts off by helping you define your book's category, audience, and marketplace so that you know exactly where your book "fits in." Following this, you are guided in choosing the best publishing companies for your book, and writing a winning submission package. Then the Square One System tells you exactly how to submit your package so that you optimize success, while minimizing your time, cost, and effort. Also included is a special section on contracts that will turn legalese into plain English, allowing you to be a savvy player in the contract game. Most important, this book will help you avoid the common errors that so often prevent writers from reaching their goal. Throughout each chapter, you will find practical tips and advice from experienced editors and publishers, as well as insights from popular children's authors such as Jane Yolen and Johanna Hurwitz. Whether you're just thinking about writing a children's book or you are a published author, you're sure to find "How to Publish Your Children's Book" a solid reference you can turn to time and time again.

Provides practical and timely advice on writing different types of children's books, working with publishers, understanding the publishing process, the importance of illustrators, and building a career in the field of children's literature. Original. 12,000 first printing.

This accessible text will show students and class teachers how they can enable their pupils to become critical thinkers through the medium of picturebooks. By introducing children to the notion of making-meaning together through thinking and discussion, Roche focuses on carefully chosen picturebooks as a stimulus for discussion, and shows how they can constitute an accessible, multimodal resource for adding to literacy skills, while at the same time developing in pupils a far wider range of literary understanding. By allowing time for thinking about and digesting the pictures as well as the text, and then engaging pupils in classroom discussion, this book highlights a powerful means of developing children’s oral language ability, critical thinking, and visual literacy, while also acting as a rich resource for developing children’s literary understanding. Throughout, Roche provides rich data and examples from real classroom practice. This book also provides an overview of recent international research on doing ‘interactive read alouds’, on what critical literacy means, on what critical thinking means and on picturebooks themselves. Lecturers on teacher education courses for early years or primary levels, classroom teachers, pre-service education students, and all those interested in promoting critical engagement and dialogue about literature will find this an engaging and very insightful text.