This multidisciplinary handbook pulls together in one volume the research on children's and young adult literature which is currently scattered across three intersecting disciplines: education, English, and library and information science.

Upon publication, Anita Silvey’s comprehensive survey of contemporary children’s literature, Children’s Books and Their Creators, garnered unanimous praise from librarians, educators, and specialists interested in the world of writing for children. Now The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators assembles the best of that volume in one handy, affordable reference, geared specifically to parents, educators, and students. This new volume introduces readers to the wealth of children’s literature by focusing on the essentials — the best books for children, the ones that inform, impress, and, most important, excite young readers. Updated to include newcomers such as J. K. Rowling and Lemony Snicket and to cover the very latest on publishing and educational trends, this edition features more than 475 entries on the best-loved children’s authors and illustrators, numerous essays on social and historical issues, thirty personal glimpses into craft by well-known writers, illustrators, and critics, and invaluable reading lists by category. The Essential Guide to Children’s Books and Their Creators summarizes the canon of contemporary children’s literature, in a practical guide essential for anyone choosing a book for or working with children.

Foreword by bestselling and award-winning author Smriti Halls. The indispensable guide to writing for children of all ages from pre-school to young adults, this Yearbook provides inspirational articles from dozens of successful writers and illustrators on how to get your work published. It includes a directory of over a thousand up-to-date listings with contacts from across the media and publishing industry. This bestselling Yearbook is full of practical advice on all stages of the writing and illustration process from getting started, writing for different markets and genres, and preparing an illustration portfolio, through to submission to literary agents and publishers. It also covers the financial, contractual and legal aspects of being a writer and illustrator. Widely recognised as the essential support for authors and illustrators working across all forms: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screen, audio and theatre, it is equally relevant to those wishing to self-publish as well as those seeking a traditional publisher-agent deal. It includes advice from bestselling writers, such as Sarah Crossan, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Tom Palmer, David Wood and many more. Additional articles, free advice, events information and editorial services at www.writersandartists.co.uk

'A one-stop welcome to the world of publishing ... worth its weight in gold.' Smriti Halls Over the last two decades the Children's Writers' & Artists' Yearbook has become the indispensable guide to writing for children of all ages from pre-school to young adults. It is an essential item for any bookshelf, it includes advice, tips and inspiration for authors and illustrators working across all forms: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, screen, audio and theatre and magazines. It also covers the financial, contractual, and legal aspects of being a writer and illustrator. Its directory of 1,200 listings with contacts are updated yearly to provide the most up-to-date information across the media and publishing industry. It also includes over 50 articles by award-winning writers and illustrators covering all stages of the writing and illustration process from getting started, writing for different markets and genres, and preparing an illustration portfolio, through to submission to literary agents and publishers. Additional articles, free advice, events information and editorial services at www.writersandartists.co.uk

Children's book awards have mushroomed since the early twentieth-century and especially since the 1960s, when literary prizing became a favored strategy for both commercial promotion and canon-making. There are over 300 awards for English-language titles alone, but despite the profound impact of children’s book awards, scholars have paid relatively little attention to them. This book is the first scholarly volume devoted to the analysis of Anglophone children's book awards in historical and cultural context. With attention to both political and aesthetic concerns, the book offers original and diverse scholarship on prizing practices and their consequences in Australia, Canada, and especially the United States. Contributors offer both case studies of particular awards and analysis of broader trends in literary evaluation and elevation, drawing on theoretical work on canonization and cultural capital. Sections interrogate the complex and often unconscious ideological work of prizing, the ongoing tension between formalist awards and so-called identity-based awards — all the more urgent in light of the "We Need Diverse Books" campaign — the ever-morphing forms and parameters of prizing, and scholarly practices of prizing. Among the many awards discussed are the Pura Belpré Medal, the Inky Awards, the Canada Governor General Literary Award, the Printz Award, the Best Animated Feature Oscar, the Phoenix Award, and the John Newbery Medal, giving due attention to prizes for fiction as well as for non-fiction, poetry, and film. This volume will interest scholars in literary and cultural studies, social history, book history, sociology, education, library and information science, and anyone concerned with children's literature.

The annual, bestselling guide to all aspects of the media and how to write and illustrate for children and young adults. Acknowledged by the media industries and authors as the essential guide to how to get published. The 70+ articles are updated and added to each year. Together they provide invaluable guidance on subjects such as series fiction, writing historical or funny books, preparing an illustration portfolio, managing your finances, interpreting publishers' contracts, self-publishing your work. Foreword by Sarah Crossan, Carnegie Medal winner and author of One, Breathe, Moonrise (published July 2018) and We Come Apart (with Brian Conaghan) NEW articles for the 2019 edition include: LGBT+ characters in children's fiction by Lauren James The hybrid author by Shelli R. Johannes A jobbing writer's lot by Joanna Nadin Adapting children's books for stage and screen by Emma Reeves Where does your book sit? by Jasmine Richards Murderous inventions by Robin Stevens The long and winding road to publication by Paul Stewart Writing picture books by Tessa Strickland The ups and downs of being a writer by Theresa Tomlinson All of the 2,000 listings of who to contact across the media have been reviewed and updated. The essential guide for any writer for children.

Diana Marks looks at children's and young adult book awards in depth. The history, award criteria, and a biography of the person behind each of the well-known awards is included. Also of interest are lists of the winners in each category, teaching and exploration activities, reproducible teaching aides, and a timeline of events leading up to the establishment of the award. Information about well-known awards is accompanied by information on the lesser known, Pura Belpré, Jane Addams, etc. Information is formatted in quick, easy-to-read tables and charts suitable for classroom duplication. Although some of this information is available online, this is a one stop handbook that contains lesser-known awards, and offers activities for enriching the study of each award, whether well-known or not. Grades K-8.

Since children develop the critical language and early reading skills necessary to enter kindergarten between birth and age five, reading aloud is one of the most influential steps librarians, teachers, parents, and caregivers can take to foster preschoolers’ literacy skills. Early exposure to books heavily influences vocabulary knowledge, which in turn improves later reading skills and helps foster lifelong literacy. Highlighting more than 300 birth-kindergarten titles, Bailey offers A hand-picked selection of quality books adeptly chosen to help develop crucial literacy skills such as expressive and receptive language, expanded vocabularies, narrative skills, print awareness, the ability to understand written language, awareness of story structure, alphabetic knowledge, and phonological sensitivity Thorough annotation of each title, including a full bibliographic record, a short summary, and journal reviews Chapters organized by type of book, from primary skills books, wordless picture books, and rhyming books to toy and movable books A list of additional resources helpful for building a core collection Valuable for regular use by caregivers as well as for collection development, this book spotlights hundreds of titles that are engaging and fun for reader and preschooler alike.