Below are some of the authors and illustrators that will be featured in upcoming volumes of SATA. These include new entries on the swiftly rising stars of the field, as well as completely revised and updated entries (indicated with *) on some of the most notable and best-loved creators of books for children.
Nic Bishop
A New Zealand-based wildlife photographer, Bishop has worked with nature writers such as Joy Cowley and Sy Montgomery on numerous volumes of award-winning nonfiction. In The Snake Scientist he and Montgomery profile a noted expert on garter snakes, while in Red-eyed Tree Frog Bishop enhances Cowley's day-in-the-life story of a tiny rain-forest creature. The son of scientists, Bishop has also inspired new generations of the curious with his lushly illustrated Backyard Detective: Critters up Close.
Rachel Cohn
Tapping the dreams of teen girls in novels such as Gingerbread and Pop Princess, Cohn sheds a realistic light on the challenges faced by independent-minded young women who strike out on their own. In Gingerbread flunking out of boarding school means that rebellious Cyd has to move in with her father and learn to get along with her dad's new family, while in Pop Princess Wonder Blake realizes that music stardom isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Joan Findon
A scholar of medieval history as well as a college teacher, Canadian writer Findon has produced several picture books and the nonfiction title Science and Technology in the Middle Ages, as well as the middle-grade historical novel When Night Eats the Moon. A trip back in time to the Iron Age is in store for readers as Findon's modern-day young heroine finds herself back in the seventh century where she is hailed as a savior by a tribe of beleaguered Celts living near Stonehenge.
*James Howe
The creator of the popular "Bunnicula" books, Howe has shared his quirky view of life in numerous award-winning tales, introducing vampire rabbits, doggy detectives, and curmudgeonly cats in books such as The Celery Stalks at Midnight and Howie Monroe and the Doghouse of Doom. In addition to penning stories laden with puns and other wordplay to delight younger readers, Howe has attracted older fans with YA novels such as The Watcher, about a troubled young woman who writes about the way life should be, and The Misfits, which finds a group of spunky middle-school students determined to make a stand against their school's popular clique.
*Robert Lipsyte
A former sports writer for the New York Times, this multi-award-winning writer is credited with fueling a new kind of young-adult novel. Beginning with The Contender in 1967, Lipsyte brought teen boys into the reading fold with stories that combine athletic prowess with competition and confrontations off the field and outside the boxing ring. A talented writer, Lipsyte's own successful battle with cancer shows that he shares the same get-tough spirit with his many determined protagonists.
Nicola Morgan
An experienced teacher, Morgan began her writing career penning a series of easy-readers, and with the 2002 novel Monday's Are Red, she has branched out into young-adult literature. Setting her novels in her native Great Britain, Morgan draws on history in telling the story of a young teen who hopes to avenge his mother's death at the hands of an unscrupulous surgeon in Fleshmarket. Science fiction enters the mix in Sleepwalking, Morgan's story of a future England in which life for all but the renegade Outsiders is totally government-controlled.
*Allen Say
Receiving his art training in both Japan and California, Say quickly paired "author" with his illustrator credits, and has produced the acclaimed picture books The Inn-Keeper's Apprentice, Tree of Cranes,, and the Caldecott Medal-winning Grandfather's Journey. Drawing on folk stories that are a part of his Japanese heritage, Say also mines U.S. history as it pertains to Asian immigrants in books such as Music for Alice, about a Japanese immigrant who creates a giant gladiola farm, and the compelling Home of the Brave, which focuses on the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
*James Stevenson
One of the most prolific authors and illustrators working in the field of children's literature, Stevenson injects his stories with a lighthearted humor that has made him a favorite of readers both young and old. His penchant for sketchy, cartoon style art—featured in his own books as well as alongside texts by Jack Prelutsky, Charlotte Zolotow, and Cynthia Rylant—was honed during a stint as a cartoonist for the prestigious New Yorker. In addition to several poetry collections, Stevenson's most popular books include The Castaway, about Hubie the globe-trotting mouse, and Flying Feet, one of several books featuring the animal characters living in the fictional town of Mud Flat.
Sylvia Waugh
Although she wrote poetry and short fiction for many years while working as a teacher, British author Waugh has found enduring popularity as the author of several imaginative novel series for younger readers. In her internationally lauded "Mennyms" books, she follows the story of a family of dolls who, having been brought to life by their creator, attempt to live quietly in a home in suburban England. Aliens living quietly among us is the subject of Waugh's "Ormingat" trilogy, which has also been translated into numerous languages.
Louisa Young
Although British writer Young has published several works for adults, her fiction penned in collaboration with daughter Isobel Adomakoh Young under the joint pseudonym Zizou Corder has gained her numerous young fans. Lionboy is the book that started it all, and reader response inspired the mother-daughter team to create several sequels. Focusing on a young lion tamer able to communicate with animals who takes his lions on a quest in search of his kidnaped parents, the "Lionboy" series has been enthusiastically praised for its originality and engaging storytelling.
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