Customer Reviews

Children's Picturebook Price Guide, 2006-2007: Finding, Assessing, & Collecting Contemporary Illustrated Books

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just received this meaty (the size of a small town phone book!) guide, and was very impressed with the layout and scope. As a collector (and seller) of quality modern children's books, I have found most price guides of collectible books in any genre to be less than what I wanted in terms of accessibility of the information. This guide, however, starts with well-written chapters on the history of Children's Illustrated books, why and how to collect, how to identify first editions, and many other juicy morsels ("flashpoints" in bookseller jargon). While some of the information might not be new to me, it is presented as a whole which makes sense.

What I did find disappointing was errors in the main body of the book: the price guide, organized by illustrator's name. On just a quick browse, I flipped to about a dozen illustrators whom I collect, and TWO of them had titles omitted from the list. This was surprising to me, since this book was published so recently, and the books are readily available on major online venues. A simple search on the illustrator's name will yield this information.

Of course, any guide of this scope will have small errors. I have only been collecting in this area for the last 6 years, so I hoped the author's combined experience and resources would far exceed what I could reasonably research on my own.

The authors started from scratch in this effort to create a Price Guide for modern (since 1930) Illustrated children's books, and what they achieved is a fabulously accessible guide to the why's and how's of collecting these exciting bits of our collective childhoods. While I did find errors in the price guide, the layout was very well designed and easy to browse or to zero in on specific information.

I hope the book sells well enough to allow for a second edition... and that anyone else, like me, who finds errors, can contribute to making the next edition a much more accurate reference.

Finally there's a book that details the history and reason why children books are a great collector's item. The easy to read format makes my trips to the used book stores, antique shops and yard sales that much more exciting.
This has been an outstanding reference for me to review my collection, and suggest what gaps I need to fill to better enjoy my collection.

Children Picturebook Price Guide: Finding, Assessing, & Collecting Contemporary Illustrated Books is a straightforward guide for book buyers and book sellers, featuring current market prices for over 22,000 illustrated children's books, including Caldecott Medal and Honor books that are individually worth over a thousand dollars. Though the majority of Children Picturebook Price Guide is a straightforward price catalog, the first one hundred pages also discuss such topics as how to identify first edition books, particularly Caldecott Medal books and Dr. Seuss books, where to find first edition picturebooks, key factors affecting a book's value, and much more. Enthusiastically recommended for serious picturebook collectors, and a very useful guide to booksellers searching for hidden paper gold.

This book quickly became my best friend as I visitied thrift shops. It quickly helps show me what is and isn't worth buying. Although it's not exhaustive, and it needs to be updated into a current edition, it's still the best available on the market.