Humphrey Carpenter and Mari Prichard. The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984. (Reference PN1008.5 .G37 1984)
This reference book identifies and discusses authors and illustrators, characters, and some individual works of children's literature. The emphasis is on English and American works.
Children's Books and Their Creators, edited by Anita Silvey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. (Reference Z1037. C5424 1995)
This encyclopedic work is a valuable guide to twentieth century writing for children and young adults. Most entries are biographical essays which evaluate the creator's works and contribution to children's literature. Other entries focus on topics such as "animal stories," mysteries," and "science fiction." "Voices of the Creators" entries, written by the author or illustrator, provide additional insights into the work of children's books.
Drew, Bernard A. The 100 Most Popular Young Adult Authors: Biographical Sketches and Bibliographies. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1996. (Reference PS490.D74 1996)
With a few exceptions of classic writers such as Mark Twain and Louisa May Alcott, the 100 authors included in this work are actively writing in the 1990's. Each author entry contains biographical information and critical commentary about the author's work. Lists of all the author's young adult fiction with one sentence plot summaries are included. The rest of the author's works are also cited. Suggested further reading lists for each author make this a good reference source for further research.
Fisher, Margery Turner. Who's Who's in Children's Books. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975. (Reference PN1009.Al F575)
This work includes the author's personal selection of favorite characters from children's literature. The character is discussed in relation to the setting and circumstances of the story with commentary on the writer's approach to the character.
Helbig, Alethea K. and Agnes Regan Perkins. Dictionary of American Children's Fiction, 1859-1959. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1985. (Reference PS374.c454 H45 1985)
The authors have selected 420 award-winning and notable fiction books that were published between 1859 and 1959 and have provided a critical plot summary of each. In addition, there are entries for authors, for memorable characters, and for other elements such as the book's setting. Each entry indicates other related entries, and the index provides multiple access points to the entries. This work provides an excellent resource for those analyzing children's books as literature.
Helbig, Alethea K. and Agnes Regan Perkins. Dictionary of American Children's Fiction, 1960-1984. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1986. (Reference PS374.C454 H45)
This work includes 489 children's fiction books of "recognized merit" published between 1960 and 1984. The entries include critical plot summaries of a book, biographical entries for authors, entries for major characters, and entries for significant settings and other noteworthy features. The index provides access to the entries by themes, authors, titles, characters, subjects (e.g. dogs, sledding, soldiers), and awards. This is a valuable source of information for those studying children's literature.
Helbig, Alethea K. and Agnes Regan Penkins. Dictionary of American Children's Fiction, 1985-1989. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1993. (Reference PS374.C454 H45 1993)
All books included have been given awards or placed on notable books lists with the authors further judging the book for its merit as imaginative literature for children. Entries are by title, author, and characters. The title entry provides a plot summary and a critical assessment of the books' literary value.
Hendrickson, Linnea. Children's Literature: a Guide to the Criticism. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1987. (Reference Z2014.5 H46)
"The purpose of this bibliography is to draw together, for scholars and generalist, significant articles, books and dissertations relating to children's literature criticism that have originated in disparate disciplines and been published in widely scattered popular and scholarly sources." The material covered here is criticism, distinguished from book reviewing by its greater depth of analysis and evaluation of the work. The work is divided into two parts: Part A arranges criticism under author's name and Part B arranges criticism by subjects, themes, and genres.
Junior Book of Authors, 2nd edition, edited by Stanley J. Kunitz and Howard Haycraft. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1951. (Reference PN1009.A1 K8)
More Junior Authors, edited by Doris De Montreville. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1972. (Reference PN1009.A1 D45)
Fourth Book of Junior Authors & Illustrators, edited by Doris De Montreville and Elizabeth D. Crawford. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1978. (Reference PN1009.Al F6)
Whenever possible these easy to read biographical sketches covering a half page to several pages in length were written by the authors themselves. In most cases photographs of the author are included.
Leif, Irving P. Children's Literature: a Historical and Contemporary Bibliography. Troy, NY: Whitston Publishing Co., 1977. (Reference Z1037.L4)
The author says that "this bibliography brings together virtually all the literature about children's literature." The bibliography is arranged into six broad categories which form the chapters of the book and each chapter is further subdivided. The user should consult the table of contents to determine which sections to consult. The only index provided is by author's name.
Marantz, Sylvia S. and Kenneth A. Marantz. The Art of Children's Picture Books: a Selective Reference Guide. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1988. (Reference Z1037.1.M37 1988)
An annotated bibliography of books, articles, and other resources which deal with the research and criticism of the art of picture books for children. Artist, author, and title indexes are included.
Research and Professional Resources in Children's Literature: Piecing a Patchwork Quilt, edited by Kathy G. Short. Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 1995. (Reference PN1009.A1 R46 1995)
This bibliography provides an excellent starting point for anyone researching children's literature. According to the book's introduction, research on children's literature "cuts across many disciplines, including literary criticism, education, library science, psychology, history, women's studies, critical theory, and sociology." This work was created to pull together the resources from these diverse areas of scholarship providing an annotated bibliography of children's literature research and annotated lists of professional journals and books dealing with children's literature.
Something about the Author, edited by Anne Commire. Detroit: Gale, 1971. (Reference PN451.S6)
This is an ongoing reference series dealing with the lives and works of authors and illustrators of children's books. In addition to well-known authors and illustrators it includes the less prominent writers as well. This set spans the time range of children's literature from the early figures to contemporary authors and illustrators. Each entry includes personal and career information about the biographer, lists of his writings and adaptations from them in another medium such as televisions or recordings, and sidelights which provide commentary on the life or work of the biography from the person or from published sources such as biographies, interviews, etc.
Touchstones: Reflections on the Best in Children's Literature, volume 1-3. West Lafayette, IN: Children's Literature Association, 1985.(Reference PN1009.A1 T575 1985)
Touchstone works are identified by a committee of the Children's Literature Association as quality children's books which we may use to make judgements about the excellence of other children's books. The scholarly essays in these three volumes discuss the children's works as literature. Volume 1 covers fiction books, volume 2 discusses folk literature, poetry, legends and myths; and volume 3 discusses picture books.
Twentieth-century Children's Writers, edited by D.L. Kirkpatrick. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1978. (Reference PN1009.A1 T9 1979)
This work includes English-language authors of fiction, poetry, and drama for children and young people. Each entry consists of a biography, a complete list of separately published books, and a signed critical essay.
Ward, Martha E. and Dorothy A. Marquardt. Authors of Books for Young People. New York: Scarecrow Press, 1964 and First Supplement, and Supplement 1 (Reference PN452.W35)
Ward, Martha E. and Dorothy A. Marquardt. Authors of Books for Young People, Supplement to the Second Edition. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1979. (Reference PN497.W3 1979)
These books provide biographical sketches of children's authors and include bibliographic information on their works for children.
The Who's Who of Children's Literature, edited by Brian Doyle. New York: Schocken Books, 1968. (Reference PN452.D6 1968B)
This work includes information on approximately 300 authors and illustrators of children's books "from the early nineteenth century to present day."
Writers for Children: Critical Studies of Major Authors since the Seventeenth Century, edited by Jane M. Bingham. New York: Scribner, 1987. (Reference PN1009.A1 W73 1988)
This one volume work presents critical essays on eighty-four writers whose works have become children's classics. In order to be included the author must have written expressly for children, be deceased, and his works must have been in print at least two generations.
Yesterday's Authors of Books for Children, edited by Anne Commire. Detroit, Michigan: Gale, 1977. (Reference PN451.Y4)
This work contains biographical information on children's authors who died before 1961. Whenever possible information from diaries, letters and auto biographies are used to present the author's personality and creative viewpoint in his or her own words.
