50 Authors and Illustrators Your Kids Will Love

In the world of children’s books, there is a select group of authors and illustrators who have made it big—some so big their names are as recognizable as their titles (just try finding a ten-year-old who doesn’t know who J.K. Rowling is).

But every Beverly Cleary, Lane Smith, Louis Sachar, and Richard Scarry was once an unknown, doggedly developing characters and storylines and sketches that would one day resonate with generations of youth. Before their books could become classics, though, they had to be discovered by readers. To help the discovery process, we present fifty great authors and illustrators relatively new on the scene, but well worth reading.

PRESCHOOL AND EARLY ELEMENTARY

Derek Anderson
What You Should Read: Over the River, Gladys Goes Out to Lunch
The Buzz: Anderson’s joyful, colorful illustrations playfully engage early learners—the Gladys tale even includes an afterward in which Anderson explains the genesis of his delightful story. “Plus,” says Barb Bassett of the Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, “[Anderson] is a great guy and a great presenter to groups.”

Lisa Brown
What You Should Read: How to Be
The Buzz: How to Be’s clean, spare illustrations offer cute examples of how to be a series of different animals—including a better person.

Marcia Wilson Chall
What You Should Read: Prairie Train and Up North at the Cabin
The Buzz: Chall has a deft touch for illustrating with words. Her stories will resonate especially with Minnesota readers who are familiar with lakes, water-skiing, prairie landscapes, fishing, and the critters of the Midwest.

Rick Chrustowski
What You Should Read: Turtle Crossing and Hop Frog
The Buzz: Drawings made with colored pencil and watercolor washes depict nonfiction narratives that entertain kids while educating them. A great choice for insect lovers.

Wallace Edwards
What You Should Read: Monkey Business and Mixed Beasts
The Buzz: Kids will giggle at the incredibly detailed drawings and crafty wordplay; adults will chortle at the clever jokes, like Wallace’s drawing of a fish named Gloria who pedals a bike.

Tim Egan
What You Should Read: Roasted Peanuts, Serious Farm, and Burnt Toast on Davenport Street
The Buzz: Egan depicts his animals in a distinctive style and with a wry sense of humor, coupling imaginative tales with vivid watercolors.

David Geister
What You Should Read: The Legend of Minnesota
The Buzz: Geister grew up near the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers, and his subjects include the verdant valleys of the Upper Mississippi River and historical renderings of the folks who lived there. Though new on the scene, his illustrations for The Legend of Minnesota are so well-executed it’s certain there will be more to come. 

Bob Graham
What You Should Read: Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child; This Is Our House; and Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten
The Buzz: Graham depicts scenes and people in refreshingly natural ways: his  houses are a mess, his dads sometimes have earrings, his parents have tattoos and use laptop computers, and his pets are often caught in the act of being naughty. “But all of the families are always overflowing with love,” says Linnea Christensen, youth services librarian at the Plymouth branch of Hennepin County Library.

Brian Lies
What You Should Read: Bats at the Beach and Finklehopper Frog Cheers
The Buzz: Lies’ illustrations beautifully capture his characters’ emotions and expressions. He also includes fun details in his artwork that enhance the storytelling.

Sylvia Long
What You Should Read: Sylvia Long’s Mother Goose and An Egg is Quiet
The Buzz: Long evokes her love of nature with delicate, realistic watercolor renderings. She also puts a unique spin on traditional Mother Goose tales, even omitting the Old Woman in the Shoe’s proclivity for spanking her children before sending them to bed. 

Julie Paschkis
What You Should Read: Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary and Night Garden: Poems from the World of Dreams
The Buzz: Paschkis’ art employs vibrant colors and geometric lines, perfect for the whimsical poetry her pieces are often paired with.

Adam Rex
What You Should Read: Tree Ring Circus and Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich
The Buzz: New on the picturebook beat, Rex has a softly detailed style of drawing and a preposterous, over-the-top sense of humor. “The Frankenstein book coming this fall is nothing less than brilliant,” says Collette Morgan of Wild Rumpus bookstore in Minneapolis.

Lauren Stringer
What You Should Read: Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs; Our Family Tree; and Winter is the Warmest Season
The Buzz: “No matter which author she is paired with, her paintings always reflect the content and style of the book,” Morgan says. Winter is the Warmest Season is the first book that Stringer has authored and it’s bound to be a Minnesota classic.

Shinsuke Tanaka
What You Should Read: Wings
The Buzz: Well-known in Japan, Tanaka is just being introduced to Americans. His wordless book is proof that thoughtful imagery—here, in the form of detailed pencil drawings—can itself propel a story.

Katherine Tillotson
What You Should Read: Penguin and Little Blue and Nice Try, Tooth Fairy
The Buzz: Whimsical, lively illustrations are the hallmark of this capable artist. Tillotson uses perspective and arrangement to convey the frenzy, space, and warmth of her storylines.

Mike Wohnoutka
What You Should Read: The Foot-Stomping Adventures of Clementine Sweet and Look What the Cat Dragged In
The Buzz: Wohnoutka’s illustrations take on comic dimensions with exaggerated proportions and interesting perspectives, nicely complementing fun-to-read texts.