For Further Research into Picture Books
These books and organizations will aid teachers, librarians, writers, and parents who want to know more about picture books and their uses. The titles are, for the most part, published within the last ten years, although the list includes several classics as well. In cases where the entire text is not devoted to picture books, I have indicated which chapters or sections cover them.
Amoss, Berthe, and Eric Suben. Writing and Illustrating Children’s Books for Publication: Two Perspectives. Rev ed. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest, 2005.
Authors with backgrounds in writing, illustrating, teaching, and editing offer a short course on all aspects of children’s literature, with many examples from picture books.
Asher, Sandy. Writing It Right! How Successful Children’s Authors Revise and Sell Their Stories. West Redding, CT: Writer’s Institute, 2009.
The section on picture books examines the drafts that went into the making of four of these books, plus interviews with the authors.
Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. www.ala.org/alsc.
ALSC bestows the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Belpré, Schneider Family, and other book awards and advocates on behalf of reading and books.
Bader, Barbara. American Picturebooks from Noah’s Ark to the Beast Within. New York: Macmillan, 1976.
An excellent source for the study of the history of this form. Covers the famous authors and artists, styles, publishers, and social change.
Bang, Molly. Picture This: How Pictures Work. San Francisco: SeaStar, 2000.
How do shape, color, size, and layout “make” a picture? Bang explains, with ample illustrations of her simple yet emotionally complex shapes.
Bomhold, Catharine, and Terri E. Elder. Twice Upon a Time: A Guide to Fractured, Altered, and Retold Folk and Fairy Tales. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
An annotated list of versions of twenty-seven common tales, with notes as to the country or culture of origin. Includes title, author, illustrator, country/culture, and motif indexes.
Broman, Jennifer. Storytime Action! 2,000+ Ideas for Making 500 Picture Books Interactive. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2003.
———. More Storytime Action. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2009.
Bring sound and motion to storytimes in public and school libraries with these ideas.
Cooperative Children’s Book Center. www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc.
A wealth of information for librarians, teachers, day care providers, and students of children’s literature. The CCBC also presents the annual Charlotte Zolotow Award.
Edwards, Gail, and Judith Saltman. Picturing Canada: A History of Canadian Children’s Illustrated Books and Publishing. University of Toronto, 2010.
A comprehensive examination of children’s literature in Canada, especially illustrated books, 1800s to the present. With information on major publishers, authors, illustrators, awards, and cultural identity.
Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Amherst, MA. www.carlemuseum.org.
Evans, Dilys. Show & Tell: Exploring the Fine Art of Children’s Book Illustration. San Francisco: Chronicle, 2008.
Learn how twelve illustrators found their calling and how they work; includes lots of illustrations.
Evans, Janet, ed. Talking Beyond the Page: Reading and Responding to Picturebooks. London: Routledge, 2009.
A collection of scholarly essays on children’s understanding and response to books, with chapters on endpapers, frames, narrative, and immigrant children’s responses.
Giblin, James Cross. The Giblin Guide to Writing Children’s Books. 4th ed. West Redding, CT: Writer’s Institute, 2005.
Practical advice from a children’s author and editor. Three chapters specifically concern picture books.
Hearn, Michael Patrick, Trinkett Clark, and H. Nichols B. Clark. Myth, Magic, and Mystery: One Hundred Years of American Children’s Book Illustration. Boulder, CO: Roberts Rinehart, in cooperation with the Chrysler Museum of Art, 1996.
Revel in the variety of styles and subjects in this history, beginning with the British forebears of children’s book illustration.
Kirk, Connie Ann. Companion to American Children’s Picture Books. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2005.
More than four hundred entries on important books, authors, illustrators, and related topics.
Knowles, Liz, and Martha Smith. Understanding Diversity through Novels and Picture Books. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2007.
A guide to literature and resources for teachers and librarians, with chapters on a variety of ethnic groups, as well as ageism, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and other issues.
Lima, Carolyn W., and Rebecca L. Thomas. A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children’s Picture Books. 8th ed. Providence, NJ: R.R. Bowker, 2010.
A standard reference tool in libraries, this extensive subject guide provides bibliographic information, title index, and illustrator index.
Marantz, Sylvia, and Ken Marantz. Multicultural Picturebooks: Art for Illuminating Our World. 2d ed. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2005.
Find annotated listings of picture books covering Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and cross-cultural. Includes original tales, folk tales, and immigrant experiences.
Marcus, Leonard S. Ways of Telling: Conversations on the Art of the Picture Book. New York: Dutton, 2002.
Children’s literature scholar Marcus interviews fourteen writers and illustrators, including some of the biggest names in picture books, such as Zolotow, Sendak, and Pinkney.
Matulka, Denise I. A Picture Book Primer: Understanding and Using Picture Books. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
Discover the anatomy, genres, development, issues, and uses of picture books in this comprehensive guide. Companion website: www.picturingbooks.com.
Mazza Museum. University of Findlay, OH. www.findlay.edu/offices/resources/mazza.
McCannon, Desdemona, Sue Thornton, and Yadzia Williams. The Encyclopedia of Writing and Illustrating Children’s Books. Philadelphia: Running Press, 2008.
How is a children’s book created? This heavily illustrated volume covers word and picture, fiction and nonfiction. Much of the content is applicable to picture books, especially the many sections on illustration.
National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature. Abilene, TX. www.nccil.org.
Nikolajeva, Maria, and Carole Scott. How Picturebooks Work. New York: Routledge, 2006.
In-depth look at how pictures and words come together by analyzing setting, characters, narrative, language, and more. Uses American and Swedish picture books as examples.
Nodelman, Perry. Words about Pictures: The Narrative Art of Children’s Picture Books. Athens: University of Georgia, 1988.
This scholarly, oft-cited book covers such concepts as style as meaning, codes and symbols, the depiction of action and time, and the relationship of pictures and words.
Pantaleo, Sylvia. Exploring Student Response to Contemporary Picturebooks. University of Toronto, 2008.
A scholarly analysis of children’s interpretations of books, based on a four-year study of first and fifth graders.
Paul, Ann Whitford. Writing Picture Books: A Hands-On Guide from Story Creation to Publication. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest, 2009.
Although geared to children’s writers, anyone interested in the structure of picture books, importance of words, and characteristics of the reader will find much to learn.
Polette, Nancy J. Reading the World with Picture Books. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited/ABC-CLIO, 2010.
For over one hundred countries, an annotated list of picture books, plus activities to fulfill national standards in language arts and social studies.
———. Teaching Thinking Skills with Picture Books, K–3. Westport, CT: Teacher Ideas/Libraries Unlimited, 2007.
Reproducible classroom activities for teachers and school librarians to use with classic and recent picture books.
Salisbury, Martin. Illustrating Children’s Books: Creating Pictures for Publication. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s, 2004.
Covers the art of drawing; materials; making characters come alive; and the illustration of picture books, chapter books, and nonfiction.
Shulevitz, Uri. Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1985.
Well illustrated with numerous line drawings and reproductions, this book could be used as a text for aspiring writer/illustrators.
Sipe, Lawrence R., and Sylvia Pantaleo, eds. Postmodern Picturebooks: Play, Parody, and Self-Referentiality. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2008.
A collection of scholarly articles by professors of children’s literature. A good overview of postmodernism in the picture book.
Spitz, Ellen Handler. Inside Picture Books. New Haven: Yale University, 1999.
A scholar in art, psychology, and culture, Spitz looks at classic children’s books and how they affect children.
Stanton, Joseph. The Important Books: Children’s Picture Books as Art and Literature. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2005.
Separate chapters explore the words and art of books by Margaret Wise Brown, Arnold Lobel, Donald Hall and Barbara Cooney, Maurice Sendak, William Joyce, and Chris Van Allsburg.
Stephens, Claire Gatrell. Picture This! Using Picture Story Books for Character Education in the Classroom. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2004.
Comprehensive lesson plans for teachers in grades K–8 to teach character and integrate the lessons of the books into their curriculum.
Sutherland, Zena. Children & Books. 9th ed. New York: Longman, 1997.
The classic text on children’s literature, covering history, types, authors and illustrators, and the use of children’s literature in the classroom.
Vardell, Sylvia M. Children’s Literature in Action: A Librarian’s Guide. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
See especially chapters on “Picture Books” and “Traditional Tales” for introductions to these types.
Withrow, Steven, and Lesley Breen Withrow. Illustrating Children’s Picture Books. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest, 2009.
Solid instruction supplemented with case studies and interviews with experts, well illustrated throughout in color. A section on digital illustrations provides up-to-date advice.
Zipes, Jack, ed. The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature: The Traditions in English. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005.
A hefty volume (2,471 pages) that goes back to the 1600s and Comenius’s Orbis Pictus. Divided into headings such as fairy tales, animal fables, science fiction, comics, and verse. See especially section on picture books, which includes representative illustrations.