By The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

n this remarkable and beautiful anthology featuring the likes of Maurice Sendak, Robert Sabuda, Rosemary Wells, and Eric Carle, twenty-three of the most honored and beloved artists in children’s literature talk informally to children — sharing secrets about their art and how they began their adventures into illustration. Fold-out pages featuring photographs of their early work, their studios and materials, as well as sketches and finished art create an exuberant feast for the eye that will attract both children and adults.

Self-portraits of each illustrator crown this important anthology that celebrates the artists and the art of the picture book. An event book for the ages.

All proceeds from the book will benefit The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

By Julius Lester

In forceful, thought-provoking prose, Julius Lester discusses the aspects of his life that have influenced his writing, including his upbringing before and during the Civil Rights movement, his relationships, his political and social views, and his religious beliefs.

By Barry Moser
Illustrated by Barry Moser

If you want to know how an artist thinks, how someone who has not only read books but thought deeply about their texts operates, how someone who is as committed to the book as object as anyone working in the field goes about integrating text and image, then this book is a book you should read and reread.

By Mem Fox

How did an Australian-born, African-raised, English-educated, and America-infatuated writer and teacher come to create award-winning and best-selling children's books? Mem Fox's many fans will heartily welcome this entertaining self-portrait of the person behind the books. And would-be writers who think that a picture book, being short, is the easiest kind to write will be gently disabused of that notion by the author's rousing account of false starts, innumerable revisions, and yes, publishers' rejections. (They may, however, take some comfort from the fact that Mem Fox's Possum Magic has sold well over a half million copies worldwide and has led to countless letters from young admirers, including the fan letter that gives this book its title.) Whether advocating the "whole language" approach to teaching reading, advising would-be writers how to publish without perishing, decrying arrant sexism at her university, or simply telling a story, Mem Fox is both a delight and someone, clearly, to be reckoned with.

By Richard Peck

A memoir, a social commentary, a writing manual, Invitations to the World spans Richard Peck's entire career- from his first days as a high school English teacher to his current life as a Newberry-winning author.

By MemFox

In dynamic fashion, Mem Fox explores passionate beliefs about literacy based on her observations and firsthand experience as a teacher, writer, and parent. She knows that reading and writing can be sources of immense pleasure, growth and power for children. In Radical Reflections, Fox argues against the "skills and drills" mentality, embodied most excruciating in basal readers of the "Dick and Jane" sort, and how this method of teaching has prevented children from realizing the unlimited potential of reading and writing.

By Jane Yolen

Are you a writer longing to rediscover the joy that you once had in the craft - or even find it for the first time? In this inspiring guide, Jane Yolen, an author who has been called America's Hans Christian Anderson, shows writers how to focus on aspects of the craft that bring them joy.

By Leonard S. Marcus

A picture book is a dialogue between two worlds: the world of images and the world of words. This is a book of conversations about that beguiling dialogue. In fourteen extraordinary interviews, Leonard S. Marcus, award-winning historian, critic and scholar of children's literature, draws on the depth of his own rare knowledge and insight to spark thoughtful, personal, and often humorous discussion with artists and writers who have made lasting contributions to the illustrated literature of childhood.

Includes conversations with Eric Carle, Tana Hoban, Karla Kuskin, James Marshall, Robert McCloskey, Iona Opie, Helen Oxenbury, Jerry Pinkney, Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Rosemary Wells, Charlotte Zolotow, Mitsumasa Anno, and Ashley Bryan.

By Leonard S. Marcus

In a series of incisive and richly rewarding interviews, Marcus engages thirteen master storytellers in spirited conversation about their pivotal life experiences, their literary influences and work routines, and their core beliefs about the place of fantasy in literature and our lives.

Includes conversations with Lloyd Alexander, Franny Billingsley, Susan Cooper, Nancy Farmer, Brian Jacques, Diana Wynne Jones, Ursula K. Le Guin, Madeleine L'Engle, Garth Nix, Tamora Pierce, Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman, and Jane Yolen.

By Jane Yolen

“Our children are growing up without their birthright: the myths, fairy tales, fantasies and folklore that are their proper legacy," Jane Yolen writes.

The essays in Touch Magic, Jane Yolen's classic call-to-arms advocating the use of fantasy and folklore in children's literature, echo that statement. Yolen argues persuasively that fantasy, folklore, and the realm of story provide children with the necessary tools for facing the world, understanding its ways and capriciousness—indeed, becoming truly human. This richly expanded edition advocates the protection and preservation of traditional folk and fairy tales.

By Leonard S. Marcus

When you look in the mirror, do you see your father's curly hair or your mother's eyes? So much about who we are is passed down to us from our parents. Talent can be inherited too. Just ask these five famous picture-book families with talent that spans the generations:

Donald Crews, Ann Jonas, and Nina Crews
Clement and Edith Thacher Hurd and Thacher Hurd
Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers
Jerry Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
Harlow and Anne Rockwell and Lizzy Rockwell

Their artistic ability, way with words, and strong creative sense are their family legacies. And they have opened their family archives to Leonard S. Marcus -- sharing memories, scrapbooks, book dummies, model shots, and final art -- revealing how their books came into being, how artists are grown and nurtured, and how our roots influence who and what we become.

By Leonard S. Marucs

Have you ever wondered how a picture book is made? The process is similar to the way we play a team sport, put on a play, or build a sand castle -- through collaboration. Writers and illustrators work together in a variety of ways, and each team and venture is completely different.

In Side by Side, famed children's literature expert Leonard S. Marcus reveals how five famous teams used partnership and cooperation to create their signature picture books. Go behind the scenes and discover the give-and-take that goes on between authors, illustrators, editors, and designers as they work on their projects with passion and creativity.

By Leonard S. Marcus

In a series of fascinating interviews, thirteen well-loved writers of humorous books for children discuss a wonderful array of topics, from their sources of comedic inspiration to the varied ways in which they began writing, from their revision processes to childhood anecdotes - as well as the value they place on comedy in their lives and in their works. This beautifully designed and thoughtfully constructed collection is destined to be a treasured addition to the bookshelves of children and adults alike.

By Anita Silvey

Here in one captivating and inspiring volume more than 100 leaders from the arts, sciences, politics, business and other fields recall a children's book they loved, and its impact on their lives. Insightful, funny, inspiring, and unexpected, the contributions illuminate the lives of a fascinating range of people and introduce readers to a selection of the best books for young readers. Each is accompanied by an excerpt and illustrations from the selected book and an informative background essay by distinguished children's book authority Anita Silvey.