Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

With wit and imagination, this year's Caldecott winner, David Macaulay, plays with children and books in his handsome watercolor illustrations for the cover, frontispiece, and chapter openings of the new edition of a classic children's literature textbook. While the best of the old has been kept, everything's been brought right up to date, from the discussions of touchstone books and major authors and illustrators to the comprehensive bibliographies and appendixes of book awards, selection aids, etc. There's more full-color art of high quality; the boxed "Viewpoints" throughout offer a wide range of opinions; and the "Areas and Issues" section, edited by Peggy Sullivan, has been extensively revised with a strong focus on literature-centered classroom activities and world cultures. As always, the book is a joy to use for the intelligence of the criticism, the grace and clarity of the style, and the accessibility of the design. ~--Hazel Rochman

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

May Hill Arbuthnot authored the first edition of this now-classic children's literature textbook, a tradition carried on for the last six editions by Sutherland, whose name appears here as sole author for the first time. As before, the best has been retained, the organization remains basically the same, and the text has been revised and updated throughout. The genre chapter bibliographies have been revised to include more multicultural and international titles; the lists of book selection aids and adult references have been expanded; the essays in the "Areas and Issues" section, edited by Peggy Sullivan, are all new; and many new reproductions of book art appear in the text and in four color picture galleries. Because of reader response to the previous volume, the section on developmental psychology has been cut. Once again, this is recommended for its intelligent criticism as well as its accessibility, which is due to both the clear writing style and the format. --Sally Estes