Cynthia Rylant is an American author and librarian. She has written more than 100 children's books, including works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Several of her books have won awards, including her novel Missing May, which won the 1993 Newbery Medal, and A Fine White Dust, which was a 1987 Newbery Honor book. Two of her books are Caldecott Honor Books.
Lynn Breeze is a British illustrator and author who specialises in books for babies and toddlers. She has illustrated more than 100 books, and has also written many stories. Breeze is well known for her Pickle series of board books, which introduce infants to household objects, as well as the This Little Baby series. Her books have been translated into various European languages, and have been distributed internationally.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is a historical novel by the American author Avi published in 1990. The book is marketed towards children at a reading level of grades 5–8. The book chronicles the evolution of the title character as she is pushed outside her naive existence and learns about life aboard a ship crossing from England to America in 1832. The novel was well received and won several awards, including being named as a Newbery Honor book in 1991.
Patricia Marie MacLachlan was an American children's writer. She was noted for her novel Sarah, Plain and Tall, which won the 1986 Newbery Medal.
David Díaz is an American illustrator of children's books. He won the 1995 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration recognizing Smoky Night by Eve Bunting. He currently lives in Carlsbad, California.
Black and White is a 1990 postmodern children's picture book by David Macaulay. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, it received mixed reviews upon its release, but it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1991. The book tells four overlapping stories, each drawn with a distinct visual style. The four stories are "Seeing Things", about a boy on a train trip by himself, "Problem Parents", about siblings whose parents behave differently one night, "A Waiting Game", about people waiting for a train, and "Udder Chaos", about cows who escape and then return to their field.
Eloise Greenfield was an American children's book and biography author and poet famous for her descriptive, rhythmic style and positive portrayal of the African-American experience.
The Lion & the Mouse is a 2009 nearly wordless picture book illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. The book, published by Little, Brown and Company, tells Aesop's fable of The Lion and the Mouse. In the story, a mouse's life is a spared by a lion. Later, after the lion is trapped, the mouse is able to set the lion free. Adapting the fable, with the moral that the weak can help the strong, as a wordless picture book was seen as a successful way of overcoming the brief plot generally found in the source stories. While it was Pinkney's first wordless picture book, it was not the first time he had told the story, having previously included it in his Aesop's Fables, published in 2000. Pinkney, who had received five Caldecott Honors, became the first African American to win the Caldecott Medal for his illustrations in the book. His illustrations were generally praised for their realism and sense of place. The cover illustrations, featuring the title characters but no text, drew particular praise.
Smile is an autobiographical graphic novel written by Raina Telgemeier. It was published in February of 2010 by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. The novel provides an account of the author's life, characterized by dental procedures and struggles with fitting in, from sixth grade to high school. The book originated as a webcomic, which was serialized on Girlamatic. It is most appropriate for readers between fourth and sixth grade. Smile has had a pedagogical impact, and reviews have been written on this novel.
The Lake at the End of the World is a post-nuclear holocaust young adult novel published in 1988. Its author is Caroline MacDonald. Set in 2025, it tells the story of Hector, a teenage boy who has lived all his life in an underground bunker as the youngest member of a cult, who occasionally escapes the bunker to look outside, and Diana, a teenage girl who lives with her parents, apparently the only survivors of the nuclear holocaust. The story is told in part from Hector's perspective and from Diana's.
Milagros: Girl from Away is a 2008 children's novel by Cuban-American author Meg Medina. It was first published on 11 November 2008 through Henry Holt and Company and follows a young girl who has to deal with various struggles, including an absentee father. The book took Medina about eighteen months to write.
Locomotive is a 2013 children's book written and illustrated by Brian Floca. A non-fiction book written primarily in free verse, the book follows a family as they ride a transcontinental steam engine train in summer of 1869. The book details the workers, passengers, landscape, and effects of building and operating the first transcontinental railroad. The book also contains prose about the earlier and later history of locomotives. The book took Floca four years to create, which included a change in perspective from following the crew of the train to following a family. Floca conducted extensive research including his own train ride and consultation with experts to ensure he had the details all correct.
Pictures of Hollis Woods is a 2002 young adult novel by Patricia Reilly Giff. The novel received a Newbery Honor Award in 2003. It was adapted for television in 2007.
Out of My Mind is a novel by Sharon M. Draper, a New York Times bestselling author. The cover illustration of the fifth edition is by Daniel Chang, and the cover photography is by Cyril Bruneau/Jupiter Images. A reading group guide is enclosed. The book is recommended for ages 10-14 and for grades 5–8. The story was written in first person, featuring Melody Brooks, a girl with cerebral palsy.
The Clone Codes is a 2010 science fiction novel by American writers Patricia and Fredrick McKissack. It is about a girl, Leanna, who lives in 22nd century America where human clones and cyborgs are treated like second-class citizens, and what happens when she discovers that her parents are activists and that she is a clone.
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear is a 2015 children's book written by Canadian author Lindsay Mattick and illustrated by Sophie Blackall. The non-fiction book is framed as a story Mattick is telling to her son. Her great-grandfather, Harry Colebourn bought a bear on his way to fight in World War I, donating the bear to a zoo where it became the inspiration for the character of Winnie-the-Pooh. Finding Winnie was thoroughly researched by both Blackall and Mattick. The book's writing and illustrations were well reviewed and it won the 2016 Caldecott Medal.
Sadie and Ratz is a 2008 chapter book by Sonya Hartnett. It is about Hannah, a girl who finds it difficult to adjust to a little brother, baby boy.
Laurie Ann Thompson is an American writer. She is known for her children's books and books for young adults. Thompson is a winner of one of the 2016 Schneider Family Book Awards for her book, Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, which was illustrated by Sean Qualls.
Baby Bedtime is a 2013 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Emma Quay. The book, published in America by Beach Lane Books, and published in Australia by Penguin Books Australia, is about an adult elephant getting her baby ready for bed.
Boom Town is a 1998 historical fiction picture book written by Sonia Levitin, illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith and published by Orchard Books. Boom Town tells the story of Amanda and her family after they move to California to accompany her father in his search for gold during the California Gold Rush. To alleviate her boredom, Amanda figures out how to bake pies, and by a combination of circumstance and cleverness she starts a successful bakery that kickstarts the settlement into becoming a boomtown.
