By Leonard Marcus
Illustrated by Margaret Wise Brown

Author of Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny and dozens of other children's classics, Margaret Wise Brown all but invented the picture book as we know it today. Marcus' biography is both a portrayal of a woman whose stories still speak to millions and a portrait of New York in the 1930's and 1940's, when the literary world blossomed and made history.

By Barbara Elleman

Virginia Lee Burton's name may bring to mind a steam shovel and a man named Mike Mulligan, a charming little house, and a snowplow named Katy. Yet to speak only of Burton's achievements as a picture book creator would be to paint only a part of the canvas of her life. She was also a dancer, an illustrator for an early Boston newspaper, and a musician, designer, sculptor, and printmaker. Well-regarded children's literature expert Barbara Elleman introduces the exuberant life, art, and books of Virginia Lee Burton, complemented by family photographs, illustrations from her books, and other examples of her inspiring book.

Illustrated by Eric Carle

Eric Carle is one of the world's most beloved artists of children's books. Creator of the classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar, he has captured the imagination of millions of children and adults with his bold, colorful collage illustrations. Eric Carle's life and work are explored in this comprehensive portrait that includes:

• more than sixty full-color illustrations from his books
• artwork from his student days
• a moving autobiographical account of his life, with photographs
• anecdotal reflections by Ann Beneduce, his longtime friend and editor of The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• essays on the power of his art by his German publisher, Viktor Christen, and Takeshi Matsumoto, curator at the Chihiro Iwasaki Museum in Tokyo
• an insightful speech by Eric Carle originally given at the Children's Literature Center in the Library of Congress
• a photographic essay on how he creates his collages
• a full-color illustrated bibliography of all his books. A stunning volume for friends and followers of Eric Carle, one of the twentieth century's most distinguished illustrators of children's picture books

By Barbara Elleman

This highly readable account explores the scope of dePaola's work-autobiographical picture books, folktales, Christmas themes, religious stories, collections, and more. Elleman gives a glimpse at his fine art and his "non-book" designs as well as a step-by-step account of the development of a picture book, Big Anthony, His Story.

By Clifford Ross, Karen Wilkin
Illustrated by Edward Gorey

The World of Edward Gorey introduces readers to Gorey himself by way of an interview with artist Clifford Ross. Here we learn about Gorey's unusually agile mind, his immense and diverse interests, and his deep knowledge of art. From there, art critic Karen Wilkin takes us on a voyage through Gorey's world, analyzing the evolution and sources of the artist's style and situating it within a tradition of narrative art, of high and popular culture.

Most of the fairy tales that we grew up with we know thank to the Brothers Grimm. Jack Zipes, one of the most astute critics of fairy tales, explores the romantic myth of the brothers as wandering scholars who gathered "authentic" tales from the peasantry. Bringing to bear his own critical expertise as well as new biographical information, Zipes examines the interaction between the Grimms' lives and their work. He reveals the Grimms' personal struggle to overcome social prejudice and poverty, as well as their political efforts - as scholars and civil servants - toward unifying the German states. By deftly interweaving the social, political, and personal elements of the lives of the Brothers Grimm emerge as powerful creators, real people who established the fairy tale as one of our great literary institutions. Part biography, part critical assessment, and part social history, The Brothers Grimm provides a complex and very real story about fairy tales adn the modern world.

By Sarah Mayor Cox
Illustrated by Robert Ingpen

This handsome 11-page volume collects scores of beautifully reproduced paintings and sketches from dozens of Mr. Ingpen's best known books, surveying a long and fruitful career.

Curious George is known and loved all over the world. But few people know the exciting history of his creators. In 1940, Hans and Margret Rey had to flee their Paris home as the German army advanced on the capital city. They began their harrowing journey on bicycles with their children's book manuscripts among their few possessions. Louise Borden combed primary resources, including Hans Rey's pocket diaries, to tell this dramatic true story. Archival materials introduce readers to the world of Hans and Margret Rey while Allan Drummond dramatically illustrates their wartime trek to a new home.

By Maurice Sendak
Illustrated by Dr. Seuss

The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss exhibits a sophisticated, technically accomplished, and often quite unrestrained side of Geisel's talent. These fabulous and whimsical paintings, created for his own pleasure and never before shown to the public, will enchant and amaze you.

By Charles D. Cohen
Illustrated by Dr. Seuss

To read this book, to pore over the myriad of images, is to accompany Charles D. Cohen on his journey of exploration into a most singular mind, a mind almost obsessive in its tenacity. We have Cohen to thank for offering up to us a wondrous window, never before afforded, into the larger world of Dr. Seuss.

Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger

This chronologically ordered catalogue follows Zwerger through different phases of her artistic development since her first book.

By Istvan Banyai
Illustrated by Istvan Banyai

Collection of the art of Istvan Banyai with an introduction by Kurt Anderson

By John Burningham

Forward by Maurice Sendak, essay by Brian Alderson

John Burningham is one of world's most recognized and beloved illustrators. His work has received numerous awards, including Kate Greenaway Medals. Combining biographical details from John Burningham's life with his comments and anecdotes, this candid volume tells the story behind several of his most well-known creations. Discover the art, life, and inspiration of this celebrated illustrator in his own words.

By Bill Peet

What a success story Bill Peet's life has been! In this handsome autobiography, Bill Peet tells in words and pictures the fascinating tale of his life.

By Anne Cohen DePietro, Ann Marie Mulhearn Sayer, Sandra Kraskin, Karen Cantor, Leonard S. Marcus, Antonia Markiet, Dohn Samuel Schildkraut

Rediscovering Slobodkina: A Pioneer of American Abstraction celebrates the extraordinary prolific career of artist, illustrator, and author Esphyr Slobodkina. This comprehensive presentation on her centennial brings new attention to the life and art of a pioneering woman. Slobodkina's favorite illustrations and more than 90 of her painting are paired with essays examining her work as an assemblage artist and sculptor, as well as her contributions to American Modernism as an abstract painter.

By Ashley Bryan

Ashley's autobiography is full of art, photographs, and the poignant never-say-never tale of his rich life, a life that has always included drawing and painting. Even as a boy growing up during the Depression, he painted -- finding cast off objects to turn into books and kites and toy and art. Even as a solder in the segregated Army on the beaches of Normandy, he sketched -- keeping charcoal crayons and paper in his gasmask to draw with during lulls. Even as a talented, visionary art student who was accepted and then turned away from college upon arrival, the school telling Ashley that to give a scholarship to an African American student would be a waste, he painted -- continuing to create art when he could have been discouraged, continuing to polish his talents when his spirit should have been beaten. Ashley went on to become a Hans Christian Anderson Award nominee, a May Hill Arbuthnot lecturer, and a multiple Coretta Scott King award winner. As you might imagine, his story is powerful, bursting with his creative energy, and a testament to believing in oneself. It's a book every child in America should have access to and it does what the very best autobiographies do; it inspires!

By David Michaelis

His name summons up our earliest images of the beloved books we read as children. His illustrations for Scribner's Illustrated Classics ( Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Last of the Mohicans, The Yearling

By Linda Lear

In this remarkable biography, Linda Lear offers a new look at the extraordinary woman who gave us some of the most beloved children's books of all time. Beatrix Potter found freedom from her conventional Victorian upbringing in the countryside. Nature inspired her imagination as an artist and scientific illustrator, but The Tale of Peter Rabbit brought her fame, financial success, and the promise of happiness when she fell in love with her editor, Norman Warne. After his tragic and untimely death, Potter embraced a new life as the owner of Hill Top Farm in the English Lake District and a second chance at happiness. As a visionary landowner, successful farmer, and sheep breeder, she was able to preserve the landscape that had inspired her art. Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature reveals a lively, independent, and passionate woman, whose art was timeless, and whose generosity left an indelible imprint on the countryside.

By Tony Kushner

Tracing Sendak's life and work from 1980 to the present, this richly illustrated volume is filled with projects in various mediums, both inside and outside the children's book arena. Reproduced here are lavish set and costume designs for a number of theatrical and dance productions, from The Nutcracker to The Magic Flute to The Love for Three Oranges. Also represented is artwork for numerous posters, CD covers, book jackets, and adult books, as well as children's picture books. Profusely illustrated, this book introduces Sendak's recent work, particularly in the theater, to a wider audience and pays tribute to his genius.

By Philippe Goddin

This first volume covers the years 1907 to 1937, during which the range of Hergé's drawing is evident: his childhood and schoolboy sketches, the first published drawings, his burgeoning work as an illustrator and graphic designer, the advertisements, occasional paintings and, of course, the strip cartoons for which he became famous.

By Michael Farr

Tintin & Co. is a fascinating insight into the inspiration and development of an extraordinary cast that will have fans worldwide re-reading the adventures.

By Michael Farr

in this anniversary portrait Michael Farr reveals the artist and complex personality behind Tintin.

Lisbeth Zwerger: The World of Imagination
117 pages of full-color illustrations. Featuring an introduction by Eric Carle and essays by Willy Puchner and Lisbeth Zwerger.

By Jean Nathan

In 1957, a children's book called The Lonely Doll was publsihed. With its pink-and-white-checked cover and photographs featuring a wide-eyed doll named Edith, it captured the imaginations of young girls and made the author, Dare Wright, a household name. Close to forty years after its publication, the book was out of print but not forgotten. When the cover image inexplicably came to journalist Jean Nathan one afternoon, she went in search of the book - and ultimately its author. Over the next five years, Nathan pieced together Dare Wright's bizarre life of glamor and painful isolation to create this mesmerizing biography of a woman who struggled to escape the imprisonment of her childhood through her art.

By Melanie Rehak

Nancy Drew has survived the Depression, World War II, and the sixties to enter the pantheon of American girlhood. Here, with all the vivid energy and page-turning pace of Nancy's adventures, is the first behind-the-scenes history of our beloved girl detective. Behind the blue roadster, cloche hats, uncanny timing, and constant presence in the lives of American girls lies an enduring literary mystery: Who created Nancy Drew? And how did she go from pulp heroine to icon? Melanie Rehak has put together all the clues and tracked down all the suspects; grab your flashlights and join the gang as we find out the truth about Nancy Drew.

By Gregory Maguire

Gregory Maguire examines Sendak's aesthetic influences from William Blake to Walt Disney, revealing the "conversations" - often unconscious and unspoken - that artists have with one another. A master of literary invention himself, Maguire explores recurring motifs in Sendak's life work - from monsters to mayhem - as well as his profound understanding of children, their creativity, and the breadth of emotions with which they encounter the world. Making Mischief is a gift of the imagination to Maurice Sendak, one of the master mythmakers of our time.

By Judy Taylor
Illustrated by Beatrix Potter

A compilation of all the letters Beatrix Potter wrote to children, including the famous picture letters, with biographical information about the recipients.

By Jane Crowell Morse
Illustrated by Beatrix Potter

This is Beatrix Potter's own record of her 'purposeful life of achievement' between 1921 and 1943. Her letters to American friends reveal her interest in art, children's book, country life, conservation, place names and language, sheep, old furniture, human behavior and international politics.