Karen S. Hesse is an American author of children's literature and literature for young adults, often with historical settings. She received the Newbery Medal for Out of the Dust (1997).
Redwall is a series of children's fantasy novels by British writer Brian Jacques, published from 1986 to 2011. It is also the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, as well as the name of the abbey featured in the book, and is the name of an animated TV series based on three of the novels, which first aired in 1999. The books are primarily aimed at adolescents. There have been 22 novels and two picture books published. The twenty-second, and final, novel, The Rogue Crew, was posthumously released on 3 May 2011, almost three months after Jacques' death on 5 February.
Chasing Vermeer is a 2004 children's art mystery novel written by Blue Balliett and illustrated by Brett Helquist. Set in Hyde Park, Chicago near the University of Chicago, the novel follows two children, Calder Pillay and Petra Andalee. After a famous Johannes Vermeer painting, A Lady Writing, is stolen en route to the Art Institute of Chicago, Calder and Petra work together to try to recover it. The thief publishes many advertisements in the newspaper, explaining that he will give the painting back if the community can discover which paintings under Vermeer's name were really painted by him. This causes Petra, Calder, and the rest of Hyde Park to examine art more closely. Themes of art, chance, coincidence, deception, and problem-solving are apparent.
Dear America is a series of historical fiction novels for children published by Scholastic starting in 1996. By 1998, the series had 12 titles with 3.5 million copies in print. The series was canceled in 2004 with its final release, Hear My Sorrow. However, it was relaunched in the fall of 2010. Each book is written in the form of a diary of a young woman's life during important events or time periods in American history. The Dear America series covers a wide range of topics, including: the Pilgrims' journey to the New World, the Salem Witch Trials, the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, western expansion, slavery, immigration, nineteenth-century prairie life, the California Gold Rush of 1849, the Great Depression, Native Americans' experiences, racism, coal mining, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the fight for women's suffrage, the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the Battle of the Alamo, the Vietnam War, and more. The breadth of historical topics covered in these books through fiction makes the Dear America series a favorite teaching device of history schoolteachers around the country. The re-launch series and releases contain a new cover style and different pictures of the main characters than those of the original releases. Originally all the books had a ribbon inserted as a bookmark for the books but were removed in the later releases. Several of the stories were filmed and released on videotape.
The Lightning Thief is a 2005 American fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology, the first young adult novel by Rick Riordan. The opening installment in the series Percy Jackson & the Olympians, the book was recognized among the year's best for young adults. Riordan followed the novel with various books and spin-off series, spawning the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles media franchise.
A Pocket for Corduroy is a 1978 children's book written and illustrated by Don Freeman. It is a sequel to his 1968 book Corduroy.
Jon J Muth is an American writer and illustrator of children's books as well as graphic novels and comic books.
Catwings is a series of four American children's picture books written by Ursula K. Le Guin, illustrated by S. D. Schindler, and originally published by Scholastic from 1988 to 1999. It follows the adventures of kittens who were born with wings. Catwings is also the title of the first book in the series. The series is in print from Scholastic as of August 2015.
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism notable for its emphasis on practice and experiential wisdom.
Elisa Kleven is an American children's writer and illustrator of 30 books. She grew up in Los Angeles and currently resides near San Francisco. Her titles have been Booklist editor's choices, and PBS and Rainbow Book selections.
Joyce Dunbar is an English writer. She primarily writes books for children, and has published over seventy books. Dunbar is perhaps best known for Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go To Sleep, This Is The Star, and the Mouse and Mole series. She is the mother of the children's writer-illustrator Polly Dunbar.
The Lion & the Mouse is a 2009 nearly wordless picture book illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. This 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 this 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.
Zen Ties is a 2008 children's picture book by Jon J. Muth. The book is a follow-up to Zen Shorts (2005), and a third book, Zen Ghosts, was released in September 2010.
Sam and Dave Dig a Hole is a children’s book by author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen. It was published by Candlewick in 2014 and was selected as a Caldecott Honor Book in 2015.
A Birthday Cake for George Washington is a children's picture book written by Ramin Ganeshram and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton, published by Scholastic and first released on January 5, 2016. It is narrated by Delia, the daughter of Hercules, one of George Washington's slaves who worked for him as a cook. The book tells the story of Hercules and Delia baking a birthday cake for Washington. Scholastic pulled the book on January 17, 2016 in response to criticism that the illustrations depicted an overly-positive portrayal of slavery.
Ducks Away! is a 2016 children's picture book written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Judy Horacek. Published by Scholastic Inc., It is about a mother duck and her five ducklings attempting to cross a bridge, one by one, and fall off the bridge into the river below. The duck becomes more and more agitated until she, with the last of her ducklings dropping into the water and their encouragement, decides to follow them.
Steve Antony is a British children's author and illustrator, who has written and illustrated seventeen picture books and two board books.
Jazz on a Saturday Night is a 2007 children's picture book by American writers Leo and Diane Dillon published by The Blue Sky Press.
Stillwater is an animated children's television series based on Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth. The series premiered on December 4, 2020 on Apple TV+. The second season premiered on March 18, 2022, while the third season was released on May 19, 2023.
This & That is a 2015 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Judy Horacek. It is about a mouse telling bedtime stories to a pup.
