100 Most Popular Children's Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies [Hardcover]

Sharron L. McElmeel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1999 | ISBN-10: 1563086468 | ISBN-13: 978-1563086465

Students can learn more about their favorite authors and find plenty of reading materials they'll enjoy with this affordable biographical work and ready-reference. Featuring 100 beloved and celebrated children's book authors, McElmeel offers engaging biographical sketches, photos, and selected bibliographies and lists of related information sources. Included are such long-time luminaries as Beverly Cleary and Marguerite Henry as well as many new emerging writers. McElmeel's focus is on contemporary authors and those whose works are still in print. A more current and affordable alternative to multivolume publications, this book is a great collection development tool and resource for author studies. Students will enjoy using it for their reports and research papers.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Grade 6-9-This handy resource provides fairly extensive biographical information about writers enjoyed by elementary and middle school children. Authors of contemporary and classic novels and nonfiction titles are included. For each entry, several pages of background are followed by a selective, sometimes annotated book list of the person's works and several titles for further reading. This inconsistent use of annotations is bothersome. Occasional Web sites are also given. Clearly, depth of coverage can't be as complete as the multivolume Something about the Author (Gale) or the Biography Today: Author Series (Omnigraphics), but McElmeel more than adequately covers each writer's life and work. "Most popular" is always open to interpretation, and obviously not everyone will agree with this designation. Many of the writers are also found in Bernard Drew's The 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors (Libraries Unlimited, 1997). There are black-and-white photos of fewer than half the entries. Helpful genre and general indexes conclude the volume. For libraries owning any of the biographical sets, this is not a first purchase. However, its accessible format will make it the preferred title to answer general questions. Useful for collections serving teachers and students.
Peg Glisson, Mendon Center Elementary School, Pittsford, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Based on a 1997 survey of both teachers and students, this volume includes such well-known authors as Beverly Cleary (most recognized by the survey respondents) and classic writers like Lewis Carroll and C. S. Lewis. Each entry provides several pages about the author and his or her writings followed by a section called "Books and Notes," which has details about specific books and their themes, including bibliographic information. A list of additional material about or by the author completes each entry.

Entries are generally four or five pages long, and this allows McElmeel, who has written several other books on children and reading, to offer fairly detailed profiles. Knowing how writers such as Mary Downing Hahn (whose Stepping on the Cracks is based on memories of her childhood) or Lois Lowry (whose book The Giver sprang from a visit to her father in a nursing home) draw on their own lives for inspiration can help young readers understand the creative process.

An index listing genres and themes, such as that found in the three-volume set Writers for Young Adults [RBB O 15 97], would have been helpful. An alphabetical cumulative index of the titles that are cited in the entries would also have been useful. However, even without these, the book is a worthwhile (and inexpensive) resource for elementary-and middle-school libraries and public libraries that serve young readers, especially when such multivolume series as Something About the Author are financially prohibitive. The information included in 100 Most Popular Children's Authors provides, in many instances, more details than can be found in some multivolume sets.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 493 pages
• Publisher: Libraries Unlimited (May 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563086468
• ISBN-13: 978-1563086465
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,201,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A parent's bestfriend and a teacher's guide to choosing book, September 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: 100 Most Popular Children's Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies (Hardcover)

This book is a great guide for parents and teachers alike. It discusses biographical information and information on children's genres.