Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, a former English teacher and school counselor, is an award-winning author, best known for her children's books about the Rosebud Sioux life and culture, which combines history and legend to create culturally rich and authentic Native American stories. In this article, the authors share their conversations with Virginia…

In the March/April issue of "The Horn Book Magazine," author and editor Marc Aronson wrote a lightening rod of an essay about nonfiction literature. In the article, he claimed that some "new" nonfiction is groundbreaking because it shows "new knowledge as it is taking shape" (2011, p. 57). He referred to authors of this new nonfiction as…

The 2011 Children's Literature Assembly Workshop investigated cultural contexts and relevant issues in children's literature. Award-winning authors, illustrators, and an educator shared their thoughts about writing, illustrating, and teaching multiethnic literature. The panel included author Nikki Grimes, author and illustrator Eric Velasquez,…

Ann Bausum is an award-winning author who has published more than eight books with National Geographic Society. Passionate about the pursuit of social justice, Bausum channels much of her energy into researching and writing books that help educate young readers about injustices and corruptions that have plagued the country. Her book, "Freedom…

The Coretta Scott King (CSK) Award, instituted in 1969 and recognized as an official award by the American Library Association (ALA) in 1982, is conferred annually to an African American author and an illustrator for their outstanding contributions to literature about the Black experience for children and young adults. A partial impetus for the…

If an entire village is needed to raise a child, and the successful launch of the Apollo XI required 400,000 men and women, then surely it stands to reason that a book that wins the 2009 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction also must have required a team of talented individuals, each contributing some direction and adding some…

Censorship is not a new phenomenon in the field of children's literature. Children's and young adult books are often scrutinized for text and illustrations that may be found questionable for use with young readers. If deemed inappropriate, these books become the subjects of controversial debate and may fall victim to censorship. Although numerous…

Multicultural literature today is characterized by rich language, captivating illustrative techniques, and authentic stories within all genres. Never before have so many possible topics and cultures been available in books to share the diversity of both local and global societies as well as to validate the life experiences of readers. In the…

Scholars agree that reading pictures is a multifaceted act. Interestingly, children often look at illustrations more closely and "see" details in picture that are missed by "skipping and scanning" adults. Although the illustrations in picture books are a "source of aesthetic delight," "everything" about the illustrations conveys "information about…

David Wiesner's 2007 Caldecott Medal-winning "Flotsam" blends the events of everyday life with the surreal. As he often does in his picture books, Wiesner plays with size and scale, opening "Flotsam" with a full-page illustration of a sand crab and the enormous eye behind it before pulling back on the second page to reveal the creature's actual…

In this article, the author relates the creative process involved in the way he writes and illustrate picturebooks. His understanding of the analysis and creative processes focusing on picturebooks is informed from two distinct, yet complementary, perspectives. First, the author is an Associate Professor of Literacy Education and Children's…

"The Invention of Hugo Cabret" is a story about Georges Melies that the author began thinking about over 15 years ago and took about two-and-a-half years to complete. The book is about a boy named Hugo Cabret, an orphan living secretly in the walls of a train station in Paris who becomes involved in a mystery that ties him together with a mean old…

Teachers have the privilege and responsibility of helping children discover the joy of reading. This principle underlies the mission of The Children's Literature Assembly (CLA) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Unfortunately, as teachers and librarians in this country face the demands of the "No Child Left Behind Act" and of…

This article features the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award and its award-winning books for beginning readers. The award-giving body was established in 2004 by the Association of Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to honor the most distinguished contribution to the body of American children's literature known as…

Quality multicultural literature offers readers opportunities to read about characters from various cultures, lands, and background. There are many talented authors, such as Deborah Ellis, who have added to the wide range of multicultural literature available for today's youth. Through her books, Ellis immerses readers in cultures and societies…