From School Library Journal
This outstanding addition to the series provides librarians, teachers, and students with up-to-date information about 202 current authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults. In addition to the many fresh voices, the book contains revised entries on 15 artists and writers, such as Tom Feelings, Beverly Cleary, and Charlotte Zolotow, whose works continue to have an impact. The new one-column page layout is inviting, and it's easy to get lost in the subjects' words as they tell their stories. The well-written articles that accompany the autobiographical pieces, the lengthy bibliographies of significant works and of critical material, the listing of Web sites and even some e-mail addresses, the jacket illustrations, and the photographs all add up to a book that shines. Though biographical material is readily available in sources such as the "Something about the Author" series (Gale) or Anita Silvey's Children's Books and Their Creators (Houghton, 1995), this reader-friendly work belongs in all collections.
Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The Junior Book of Authors, first published in 1934 and substantially revised in 1951, has been supplemented by seven volumes in the past 50 years, each adding new writers (and since the 1978 edition, illustrators) to this authoritative reference set.
The Eighth Book of Junior Authors and Illustrators sets a new standard with a more attractive format including larger photos, whiter pages, improved page design, and the addition of jacket art to some articles. Updated entries for 15 major figures from the first five volumes include articles on Eric Carle, Tom Feelings, and Trina Schart Hyman. A typical article includes a page or two of autobiography, a photograph, a page of biography, and a bibliography of the writer or artist's works and other sources of information. Among the 202 writers and illustrators profiled in this edition are Jennifer Armstrong, Tedd Arnold, Ilene Cooper, Carolyn Coman, Christopher Paul Curtis, Debbie Dadey, G. Brian Karas, Satoshi Kitamura, P. J. Lynch, Hilary McKay, Mary Pope Osborne, Andrea Davis Pinkney, J. K. Rowling, Simms Taback, and Jacqueline Woodson. The combination of well-chosen subjects, well-written entries, and an attractive format makes this a solid choice for any library responding to requests for information about children's book writers and illustrators.
Carolyn PhelanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved