75 Authors/Illustrators Everyone Should Know
This list was originally compiled by Bernice E. Cullinan, noted reading specialist, for READ ACROSS AMERICA, the reading initiative celebrating the 75th anniversary of National Children's Book Week. The list is meant to introduce children, and the adults who care for them, to newer books in the field of children's literature. Well-known classics—such as Beatrix Potter's The Adventures of Peter Rabbit, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh, Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon, and E.B. White's Charlotte's Web, for example—have not been included, as they are reasonably well-known, enduring masterpieces that every child should know. If you've not yet introduced your child to them, start today!  PRESCHOOL - KINDERGARTEN
ERIC CARLE Large creepy crawlers cut from paper of vivid colors always create a happy surprise-The Very Hungry Caterpillar /The Grouchy Ladybug  DONALD CREWS  Realistic objects familiar to young children appear in bold graphic images artfully designed-Freight Train  / Truck  LOIS EHLERT Stunning shapes and strong colors capture exciting views in a child's mind.- Color Zoo/ Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On  ERIC HILL Lift the flaps to play hide and seek games with Spot the dog who disappears under rugs or behind closet doors-Where's Spot  /Spot Goes to the Farm  TANA HOBAN A photographer captures fresh visions of the world through the lens of her camera-Exactly The Opposite/ All About Where  BILL MARTIN, JR. Simple sentences and natural rhythmic language patterns (melodies) ring out in the stories that help beginning readers learn how to read-Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?,/Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (with John Archambault)  HELEN OXENBURY Scraggly children bounce playfully and then clamber onto the comfortable laps of well-padded adults-Monkey See, Monkey Do ,The Shopping Trip  ROSEMARY WELLS Max, an impish rabbit child, has a mind of his own when big sister Ruby tries to boss him around - Max's Breakfast /  Max's Dragon Shirt  GRADES 1 TO 3 (PRIMARY)
STAN AND JAN BERENSTAIN - A prolific team captures the rhythms of children's language in engaging stories. / The Berenstain Bears & The Honey Tree The Berenstain Bears Are A Family  JAN BRETT - A meticulous artist weaves subplots and intricate details into creative borders to extend the meaning carried in the central pictures. / The Mitten Annie and the Wild Animals  MARC BROWN - Marc Brown presents a warm, witty and sometimes poignant look at facing a bully, losing a tooth, or accepting a new baby sister. /Arthur's Baby Play Rhythm  MARCIA BROWN - Marcia Brown adapts the art style (woodcuts, intricate cut paper, flamboyant cartoon, delicate watercolor) to enrich the special meaning of each story. /Once A Mouse .Three Billy Goats Gruff  ANTHONY BROWNE - His startling images and subtle messages in art and story make us see the world in a new way. /The Piggybook Gorilla  JOANNA COLE - Superb informational books present straight facts in photo essays or combine facts with riotous humor in the Magic School Bus books. /Magic School Bus Lost in The Solar System My Puppy Is Born  BARBARA COONEY - Gentle stories and beautiful art touch the heart and leave deep thoughts to ponder. New England scenes are especially provocative. /Miss Rumphius Ox Cart Man (D. Hall)  TOMIE DEPAOLA - Tomie tells wonderful Irish and Italian family stories using strong black line and folk-art style. /The Art Lesson Strega Nona  LEO AND DIANE DILLON - Both artists work on the same piece of art often characterized by an opulent, iridescent quality. /Aida (Leontyne Price) Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears (V. Aardema)  ELOISE GREENFIELD - Poet and storyteller captures the language and melodies and strong African-American family images in her poetry and prose. /Honey I Love, Nathaniel Talking TRINA  SCHART HYMAN - Meticulous art and extensive research enable Hyman to portray Arthurian England authentically or childhood memories vividly./ Little Red Riding Hood Saint George and The Dragon (M. Hodges)  WILLIAM JOYCE - Broad humor in comically expressive animals and playful language make Joyce's books fun to read aloud or alone./ Bentley and Egg Dinosaur Bob  STEVEN KELLOGG - A heap of comic-strip detail spills from Kellogg's splashy, riotous, color-filled pages and causes children to pore over them. /Pinkerton, Behave Paul Bunyan  LEO LIONNI - Deeper meanings permeate Lionni's stories more than the elegant, sophisticated collage and design art might suggest. /Frederick Swimmy  ARNOLD LOBEL - Delicate and decorative art on attractively designed pages invites thoughtful probing. /Frog and Toad Are Friends Fables  JAMES MARSHALL - Cartoon-like drawings of unique characters present unexpected humor and spoofs. A pair of hippos, a substitute teacher, and a lovable prankster guarantee laugh-out-loud joy. /The Cut-Ups Crack Up George and Martha  ROBERT MCCLOSKEY - Superb, classic works that convey the importance of small but significant moments in a child's life./ Blueberries For Sal Make Way for Ducklings  EMILY MCCULLY - She creates wordless books in cartoon style and elaborate stories with Impressionist-style art. /Mirette On The High Wire School  JERRY PINKNEY - He paints from live models, often African-Americans, in a realistic style using full-color art and well-crafted scenes. /The Talking Eggs (R. San Souci) Mirandy And Brother Wind (P. McKissack)  JAMES E. RANSOME - Talented young African-American artist portrays characters realistically in historical or contemporary scenes. /Uncle Jed's Barbershop (M.K. Mitchell) How Many Stars In The Sky? (L. Hort)  MAURICE SENDAK - A superb artist whose books invite rereading and whose illustrations beg for repeated viewing./ Where The Wild Things Are The Nutshell Library  DR. SEUSS (THEODOR S. GEISEL) - Creative genius whose spontaneous art and lilting lines sing children into reading on their own. /The Cat In The Hat Horton Hears A Who  CHRIS VAN ALLSBURG - Van Allsburg gets you to think. He presents something that seems predictable but catches you by surprise when he turns it on end./ Jumanji The Polar Express  VERA B. WILLIAMS - She conveys the simple strength of multicultural families who share love and unity. /A Chair For My Mother "More, More, More," Said The Baby  JANE YOLEN - Enchanting storyteller and poet holds a moment in time to capture past, present, or future in word songs. Owl Moon Street Rhymes Around The World  ED YOUNG - Sophisticated simplicity describes the art he uses to retell Asian-American folklore. /Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story From China Seven Blind Mice  CHARLOTTE ZOLOTOW - Gentle stories play on the heartstrings and cause children to think about their world and relationships in a new way./ William's Doll Mr. Rabbit And The Lovely Present  GRADES 3 TO 6 (INTERMEDIATE)
ARNOLD ADOFF - Poet and anthologist who celebrates the multicultural nature of our world. Eats: Poems Sports Pages  MITSUMASA ANNO - Japanese illustrator of international renown who plays with mathematics in exquisite paintings. Anno's Counting Book Anno's Journey  NATALIE BABBITT - A superb fantasy writer who grapples with universal concerns in poetic prose. Tuck Everlasting The Eyes of the Amaryllis  JUDY BLUME - Popular writer for pre-teens who captures in realistic language concerns about growing up. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret Fudge-A-Mania  ASHLEY BRYAN - Artist, poet, and storyteller who lets the melodies of spirituals ring through his retellings of folk stories. The Dancing Granny Beat The Story Drum, Pum Pum  BETSY BYARS - Her novels capture both the humor and pathos of children facing problems as they grow up. The Pinballs The Cybil War  BEVERLY CLEARY - Children's natural language and basic concerns ring true and with humor in her early chapter books. Henry Huggins Ramona Quimby, Age 8  PAM CONRAD - Engaging writer who captures strong images and vivid themes in historical and contemporary scenes. Prairie Songs My Daniel  RUSSELL FREEDMAN - Impeccable research and intriguing writing draws interest to topics he treats in biographies and informational books. The Wright Brothers Lincoln: A Photobiography  JEAN FRITZ - This superb writer of historical fiction and biography became fascinated with American heroes when she was a child growing up in China with missionary parents. And Then What Happened Paul Revere? Homesick: My Own Journey  JEAN CRAIGHEAD GEORGE - The author grew up in a family of naturalists and her ecological concerns permeate both the novels and informational books she writes. Julie Of The Wolves My Side Of The Mountain  LEE BENNETT HOPKINS - Poet and anthologist whose generous spirit and enthusiasm for poetry inspires children and adults. Dinosaurs Good Books, Good Times  JOHANNA HURWITZ - Well-meaning but naive characters make simple mistakes and display child-like humor in short novels children read on their own. Class Clown The Adventures of Ali Baba Bernstein  MYRA COHN LIVINGSTON - A first-rate poet and anthologist who established high standards of excellence in word and image. I Like You If You Like Me Celebration  LOIS LOWRY - Subtle humor or tender pathos permeate Lowry's stories of adolescents who grow up in suburbia or a war-torn city. Number The Stars Anastasia Has The Answers  DAVID MACAULAY - A spirited artist helps us to see stories, time, and the way things work in new ways. The Way Things Work Black And White  PATRICIA MCKISSACK - Wonderful African-American storyteller who spins a yarn with drama and pizzazz. She also writes excellent informational books with husband Fredrick McKissack. Flossie And The Fox Sojourner Truth: Ain't I A Woman  PATRICIA MAC LACHLAN - Captures strong human emotions as she weaves historical or contemporary stories. Sarah, Plain And Tall  Skylark ANN MARTIN - Popular series writer who conveys the real feelings and tribulations of 10-12 year-old girls. The Babysitters Club Babysitter's Little Sister  JACK PRELUTSKY - Popular and prolific versifier and anthologist who writes and compiles humorous collections. The Dragons Are Singing Tonight Something Big Has Been Here  CYNTHIA RYLANT - Everything she writes sounds like poetry because the melody of her sentences ring in the ear. When I Was Young In The Mountains Missing May  SEYMOUR SIMON - An excellent informational science writer states what we know, what is theory, and how information changes. Autumn Across America  Mars LANE SMITH/JON SCIESZKA - Children get a kick out of the way this team spoofs fairy tales and the art of book-making. The True Story of The Three Little Pigs! The Stinky Cheese Man & Other Fairly Stupid Tales  WILLIAM STEIG - His sophisticated stories have several layers of meaning that delight adults who read to children. Doctor DeSoto Abel's Island  GRADES 6 TO 8 (OLDER READERS)
LLOYD ALEXANDER - A skilled fantasy writer who touches our deepest sense of characters and moral order. The Cat Who Wished To Be A Man The Black Cauldron AVI - His characters face issues of personal integrity as they grow up in historical or contemporary settings. Nothing But The Truth The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle  SUSAN COOPER - Fantasy writer whose characters face the eternal struggle between darkness and light, between good and evil. The Dark Is Rising The Grey King  ROBERT CORMIER - Teenage characters face realities and choices -- not always happy or hopeful ones. The Chocolate War I Am The Cheese  PAULA FOX - She captures strong emotions and vivid images in superb understated and taut writing. Monkey Island One-Eyed Cat  VIRGINIA HAMILTON - Graphic writer who weaves superb plots and vivid characters into realistic, fanciful, folkloric, and historical settings. M.C. Higgins, The Great The People Could Fly  MADELEINE L'ENGLE - She probes the theme that everything in our universe is connected and that all things, even the tiniest microbes, matter. A Wrinkle In Time Ring Of Endless Light  WALTER DEAN MYERS - He portrays an authentic view of African-Americans in gripping novels and sound informational books. Fallen Angels Now is Your Time: The African-American Struggle For Freedom  KATHERINE PATERSON - A perceptive writer whose characters and dramatic themes live on in our memories. Bridge to Terabithia Lyddie  RICHARD PECK - Time spent in schools talking with teenagers helps capture the tone, language, and concerns reflected in the gripping, authentic dialogue that permeates Peck's work. Father Figure Are You In The House Alone?  GARY SOTO - He draws upon his Mexican-American heritage to create vignettes in poetry and prose. A Fire In My Hands Living Up The Street  MILDRED TAYLOR - One of the first African-American authors to win major awards writes about the experience of rural Mississippi in the 1930s. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Let The Circle Be Unbroken  CYNTHIA VOIGT - An impressive novelist who addresses thoughtful topics through realistic, fantasy, and historical stories. Homecoming Dicey's Song  LAURENCE YEP - He probes his heritage for universal themes of growing up in an Asian-American family. Dragonwings Star Fisher  ¢¡ Ã¥À» ¼±ÅÃÇϽôµ¥ µµ¿òÀÌ µÉ°Í °°³×¿ä..Summer Reading~