Each year, libraries, bookstores, and schools across the country celebrate Children’s Book Week, a chance to commemorate great children’s books and the joy of reading. The 2018 slogan for Children’s Book Week is “One World, Many Stories,” highlighting the power of books to unite readers of all backgrounds.
To help celebrate, we turned to one of our great youth services librarians, Katelyn Martens-Rodriguez, for a list of recommended children’s book authors you may not have heard of. Katelyn works at Oakdale Library, and writes about children’s librarianship on her blog, Circulating Knowledge.
Jillian Tamaki
Jillian Tamaki is an illustrator and comics artist living in Toronto, Ontario. She is the creator of this year’s Children’s Book Week poster.
Michael Hall
Michael Hall is an author and illustrator from right here in Minnesota! You can find his picture books at the library in the children’s section.
Michael enjoys using shapes in his books. You can find books about shapes and patterns by checking out the board book collection, juvenile nonfiction in the 516s, or ask your librarian for specific recommendations!
Mem Fox
Mem Fox is an ingenious author who lives in Australia. You can find her picture books at your local library. They feature a wide array of Australian animals and people too! Simply ask a librarian if you’re looking for a specific recommendation.
Interested in koalas, kangaroos, wombats, or other animals from the land down under? You can learn factual information about Australian animals by visiting the juvenile nonfiction section in the 599s.
Kadir Nelson
Kadir Nelson has written a variety of picture books, both fiction and nonfiction. He is particularly exceptional at illustrating biographies. You can learn more about people by checking out the 900s within juvenile nonfiction. Within the 920s you’ll find famous people organized not by the author of the text but by the person featured within the title.
Angela Johnson
Angela Johnson has written over 40 titles. She was born in Alabama though currently resides in Ohio. You can find her books in the children’s and teen fiction sections of the library.
You can learn about our 50 states by checking out the juvenile nonfiction section and heading to the 900s. There are even titles about territories, American Indian nations, and our North American neighbors.
Grace Lin
Grace Lin is famous for her Ling & Ting early reader series as well as many other wonderful titles. You can find her books, ebooks, and audiobooks at your local library in the juvenile fiction section.
Are you interested in reading about families? Are you interested in learning about how other people live? Check out the 300s of the juvenile nonfiction section and ask a librarian if you’d like a specific recommendation or need any assistance.
Another great resource visit during Children’s Book Week is LOTE (Languages Other Than English), a database of children’s books that is available to you through your Washington County Library card.
Through LOTE you can access a variety of children’s books in Spanish, Karen, Somali, and Ojibwe languages. Simply stop by your local library if you’re looking for assistance or would like to find physical holdings.
