Meet the Authors and Illustrators: 60 Creators of Favorite Children's Books Talk About Their Work

Ted McGee is an associate professor of English at St. Jerome’s
College, University of Waterloo.

Teachers and children are the implied audience of this book. Each entry
includes a photograph of the artist; a selected list of publications;
cover reproductions of one or two books; a few bits of biographical
information; and a brief discussion of the process of writing or
illustrating a book.

According to the introduction, children may find new meaning in works
by learning about the artists who created them, and this learning may
provide young writers and illustrators with models to emulate.

The “Extension Activities” section is clearly directed at
educators. Students and teachers both should find useful the writing
activities suggested by the artists themselves, as well as the tips they
offer about the creative process (tips about exercises they use to
discover and develop material and about methods by which they solve
creative problems).

Kovacs and Preller have divided the book neatly into two
parts—picture books and intermediate books. Unfortunately, they fail
to clarify their principles of selection. There are certainly many
famous, award-winning contemporary figures, from Mitsumasa Anno and Judy
Blume to Dr. Seuss and E.B. White, but many others are simply not in the
same league as these artists. Part 1 contains a fairly good balance of
writers and illustrators, but Part 2 profiles only two illustrators,
E.L. Konigsburg and David Macaulay (both of whom are also authors).

International coverage is not, despite an introductory claim about the
scope of the volume, taken seriously—47 of the 60 entries are U.S.
writers or illustrators. Of the six Canadian entries, three were born
and bred here. In short, there are not many Canadian role models for
Canadian school children to emulate.

Meet the Authors and Illustrators is a handy starting point, but a
starting point only.