The stories of children's book illustrators. Impressive combination of art and story. ( )

In her very imformative book, Dilys Evans, an author, editor, public speaker and advisor to Caldecott award committees, focuses on the lives and talents of 12 artists who have made their living by illustrating children's books. Some of the more well-known are Brian Selznick, David Shannon, Hilary Knight and Harry Bliss. Others who are featured are Bryan Collier, David Wiesner, Trina Hyman, Paul Zelinsky, Betsy Lewin, Petra Mathers, Denise Fleming and Lane Smith. Each illustrator recalls who were the most influential artists in their lives as well as their uses of different media to create their work. I find it fascinating, probably because I have absolutely zero talent when it comes to artistic endeavors, to learn how the ideas are first formulated, the reasons why certain colors are chosen or even why images are placed a certain way on a page. Although he is not mentioned in this book I was fortunate to attend a speaking engagement by John Rocco (illustrator of the "Percy Jackson" series) at our library and I could have listened to him for hours. The step by step process of illustration is amazingly complex and Dilys Evans gives just a small sampling of this world of fine art. ( )

Life stories and some how-to's about the art of some of the best illustrators of children's books - a work of art in itself. ( )

Children's illustration is such an art, and when it's done well, it's stunning. A fun book that highlights the stories of top illustrators, telling you a bit about their working process and how they got started. ( )

In 1980, Dilys Evans founded The Original Art, an annual exhibition in New York featuring the best children's book illustration of the year. In this fascinating exploration of children's book illustration, she focuses on the work of 12 contemporary illustrators - describing each artist's artistic process, and looking at the marriage of art and text. The illustrators include: David Wiesner; Trina Schart Hyman; Lane Smith; Brian Selznick; Bryan Collier; David Shannon; Petra Mathers; Paul O. Zelinsky; Hilary Knight; Denise Fleming; Harry Bliss; and Betsy Lewin. ( )