The Very Best of Children's Book Illustration

Book excerpt: If you dream of writing and illustrating a children's book - and getting it published - you're not alone. You want to know what it is that successfully published illustrators do that gets them the top authors and books. This book will help you see what the difference is. It displays, in full color, the very best in contemporary American children's book illustration as selected by the Society of Illustrators for The Original Art Exhibition 1992. More than 500 of the best children's book illustrators and publishers submit newly published children's books to a jury of respected experts such as Alan Cober, Charles Santore, Ted Lewin and Joanna Long. Here you'll find the work of the finalists chosen by this distinguished panel to be included in the annual exhibition in New York. The 160 artists represented here include renowned children's book illustrators such as Richard Egielski, Anita Lobel, Leo and Diane Dillon, Trina Schart Hyman, and Jerry Pinkney, as well as up-and-coming talent such as David Wiesner, Chris Raschka, and Henrik Drescher. From this book, you'll find out what's selling and which types of art are being selected for which types of books. You'll find a short caption for each piece, offering valuable information about the book, including its author, publisher, the story it tells, and the medium in which the illustrator worked. You'll also discover new talent. But most of all, you'll be inspired by the range and beauty of the art itself.