Whether you just want to search for children's book authors or you want to find out how you too can become an author of children's books this website hopes to aid you with valuable information through this article and menu links to more information. The children's book market is wide open from picture books for infants and toddlers to books for pre-teens and young adults. Becoming an author is no different in the children's book realm than becoming an author in the romance genre. Notice I said becoming an author not the subject matter.
You might feel a little intimidated when you hear things about publishers being inundated with thousands upon thousands of submissions. A little intimidation never hurt anyone. Hopefully it will make you more determined to get your book published. Dr. Suess, likely the most recognized children's book author of all time, was rejected 26 times on his very first book. Even established authors can feel the sting of rejection in the example of author Bruce Balan of Cyber.kdz fame. His latest book Buoy, Home at Sea was rejected 24 times before being published. His comment, "Remember, it's just part of the game. If you have a good story, and write it well, it will find a home. It just may take awhile".
A great resource for finding the web presence of these talented authors of children's books is The Children's Book Council. The comprehensive list of author's goes from A to Z and provides links to the author's web pages if available. They offer an online store neatly arranged by theme such as the 2005 Children's Book Week and Newberry & Caldecott. They offer reading list options from Children's Choices a listing derived from 10,000 schoolchildren and their favorite books to Books to Grow On classic books for children from 0 to 3.
For fun we will review an 'A' list author and one 'Z' list author and leave the rest of the fun to you. From the 'A' list we have chosen Avi. This is the only name this author goes by after his twin sister called him that when they were young and it stuck. He was born in New York City in 1937 and was raised in Brooklyn . His advice to people who want to write children's books and become an author is, "I believe reading is the key to writing. The more you read, the better your writing can be."
From the 'Z' list we choose Jane Breskin Zalben children's author and artist. She began her career as an artist at five and began composing poetry for her class newspaper in the second grade. She has published about fifty books for children. She too was born in New York City and attended the High School of Music and Art. She received a B.A. in art from Queens College . Her website includes a full list of her children's books. Two of her characters, Beni and Pearl, each have their own website as well.