From Cover to Cover (24 page)

divisions of, 6

question-answer pattern, in picture books, 91

Race to Save the Lord God Bird, The
(Hoose), 17

Ramona books, 138

Rapunzel
(Zelinsky), 107

Raschka, Chris, 110

Raven, Margot Theis, 18

readability scales, 128

reading

levels level one, 128–30

level three, 131–32

level two, 130–31

realistic fiction, 140–42

Red-Eyed Tree Frog
(Cowley), 35

Redwall series (Jacques), 143

Reese, Debbie, 50

references, 19–20

repetition, in picture books, 90

review

audiences for, 5–6

definition of, 2

opening sentence in, 175–76

revising and refining, 179–80

what to include in, 174–75

writing, 165–67, 173–80

versus literary criticism, 167–68

preparing for, 168–83

rhyme, 68, 69, 74–77

in picture books, 90

rhythm, 68, 70–71

in fictional style, 161

in picture books, 89–90

Riordan, Rick, 143

Rise of Children’s Book Reviewing in America, 1865–1881, The
(Darling), 165

Rivinus, Dr. Timothy M., 102

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 27

Rocky and Bullwinkle,
66

Rosen, Michael J., 79, 81

Ross, Tony, 75

roughs, 9

Rowling, J. K., 143

Ruby Lu, Brave and True
(Look), 134

Run, Boy, Run
(Orlev), 142

Runaway Bunny, The
(M. W. Brown), 92–93

Runaway Radish
(Haas), 135

Rylant, Cynthia, 125–26

Sachar, Louis, 147, 150–51

Sanderson, Ruth, 75–76

Santoro, Christopher, 29

Sattler, Helen Roney, 29

Savvy
(Law), 142–43

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
(Schwartz), 64–65

Schnur, Stephen, 79

School Library Journal,
10, 166

school stories, 141

Schwartz, Alvin, 64–65

science books, photography in, 35–36

science fiction, 143

Scientists in the Field series, 36

Scieszka, Jon, 66

scrapbook style, 37–38

secondary sources, 45

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine
(Walker), 41–42

See Pip Point
(Milgram), 129–30

Seeger, Laura Vaccaro, 84, 106

Seeger, Pete, 84

Selznick, Brian, 144

Sendak, Maurice, 87, 111

sentences

length of in easy readers, 122–23

in transitional books, 133–34

series books, 139.
See also specific series names

setting, in fiction, 157–58

Seuss, Dr. (Theodor Seuss Geisel), 115, 117–18, 121–22, 123

Seven Blind Mice
(Young), 112

shape (in art), 96–97

Shinchi’s Canoe
(Campbell), 109

Shortcut
(Macaulay), 176

Sibert Medal, 34

Sidman, Joyce, 107

sight words, 119

sijo,
80

Silverman, Erica, 130–31

Silverstein, Shel, 78

simile, 159–60

Simon, Seymour, 35

Sisters & Brothers
(Jenkins), 32–33

Six Innings
(Preller), 142

Small, David, 26

Smith, Charles R.., 108

Smith, Lane, 66, 109

Snowflake Bentley
(Martin), 26

sociological statements, 173–74

Solomon and the Ant, and Other Jewish Folktales
(Oberman), 64

Song of the Water Boatman
(Sidman), 107

songs, 83–84

Soo, Kean, 145

source notes, 19–20

for traditional literature, 53–57

sources, documentation of, 44–46

Southey, Robert, 55–56

So You Want to Be President?
(St. George), 26

spacing, in easy readers, 127

Spiders
(Bishop), 35

Spinelli, Jerry, 148

Spinning Through the Universe
(Frost), 83

sports stories, 141–42

Springer, Nancy, 144

Stead, Rebecca, 144

Stepping Stone series, 133

Steptoe, Javaka, 108

Steptoe, John, 112

stereotyped characters, 152

Stevenson, Deborah, 176–77, 179–80

Stevenson, Suçie, 125–26

Stevie
(John Steptoe), 112

St. George, Judith, 26

stock characters, 152

Stone, Tanya Lee, 43

Stories Julian Tells, The
(Cameron), 118–19, 132–33

Story Goes On, The
(Fisher), 106

Story of Mankind, The
(van Loon), 24

style

in fiction, 159–63

in nonfiction books, 39–44

in picture books, 109–12

subplots, 151

Sugaring Time
(Lasky), 24

survival stories, 142

suspense, 149

Sutherland, Zena, 175

Sutton, Roger, 177, 179–80

Swanson, Susan Marie, 106

symbolic setting, 158

Tail Feathers from Mother Goose
(Opie), 76

tall tales, 51

Tankard, Jeremy, 176–77

Tap Dancing on the Roof
(Park), 80

Taylor, Mildred D., 158

technology, in picture books, 86–87

Ten, Nine, Eight
(Bang), 106

text

language patterns in, 89–91

pace of, 93–95

in picture books, 88–95

predictability of, 92–93

textbooks, 7

texture (in art), 97

theme, in fiction, 163–64

There Is a Bird on Your Head
(Willems), 128–29

Thimmesh, Catherine, 31–32

“Thistles” (Kuskin), 69–70

Thomas, Shelley Moore, 26

thought, in character development, 154–55

Three Bears, The
(Barton), 56–57

Three Bears and Goldilocks
(Willey), 57

Three Little Kittens
(Ross), 75

Three Little Pigs, fractured versions of, 66–67

Three Pigs
(Wiesner), 67

Thurber, James, 66

title page, 14

To Dance: A Memoir
(Siegel), 34

tone, 162–63

Townsend, John Rowe, 180

Tracking Trash
(Burns), 37

Traction Man Is Here!
(Grey), 112

trade books, 7

traditional literature, 48–67

classification of, 50–53

collections of, 64–65

documentation of sources in, 64–65

folktales, 65–66

fractured fairy tales, 66–67

illustrations in, 61–63

narrative style in, 57–61

organization of, 65

original sources of, 53–57

transitional books, 21, 114–21, 132–33

compelling content in, 136–37

episodes in, 134–36

sentence structure in, 133–34

vocabulary in, 115–20, 133

Trouble Begins at 8, The
(S. Fleischman), 41

True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by A. Wolf, The
(Scieszka), 66–67

Tsunami!
(Kajikawa), 63

Turner, Pamela S., 35

type, 38

typeface

in easy readers, 126

selection of, 8–9

Ugly Duckling, The
(Andersen), 110

Underneath, The
(Appelt), 151, 158

Up Close Author series, 44

urban legends, 51

Vacation in the Village
(Njeng), 111

value (of color), 97–98

van Loon, Hendrik Willem, 24

verse, 69.
See also
poetry

free, 71–72

light, 77–79

meter in, 70

verse novels, 82–83

visual elements

alternation in, 99–100

of picture books, 96–98

vocabulary

in easy readers, 115–20, 133

in transitional books, 133

Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mount St. Helens
(Lauber), 24

Walk Two Moons
(Creech), 147

Walker, Sally M., 35, 41–42

Way Things Work, The
(Macaulay), 176

We Are the Ship
(K. Nelson), 40

What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?
(Jenkins), 108

When You Reach Me
(Stead), 144

Where the Sidewalk Ends
(Silverstein), 78

White Deer, and Other Stories Told by the Lenape, The
(Bierhorst), 59

Who Was First?
(Freedman), 30

Wiesner, David, 66–67, 107

Wilde, Oscar, 65–66

Willems, Mo, 109, 128–29

Willey, Margaret, 57

Williams, Vera, 111

Wilson, Sandip, 46

Winick, Judd, 34

Winter, Jonah, 110

Winter
(Schnur), 79

Wolff, Virginia Euwer, 82

Wood, Don and Audrey, 108–9

Woodson, Jacqueline, 153–55

Woolf, Virginia, 165

Words of Stone
(Henkes), 159–60

Worth, Valerie, 79

Wringer
(Spinelli), 148

Written in Bone
(Walker), 35

Xiong, Blia, 111

Yeh, Phoebe, 49–50

Yelnats, Stanley, 147, 151

Yesterday I Had the Blues
(Frame), 110

Yolen, Jane, 64, 81

Young, Ed, 63, 112

Young Man and the Sea, The
(Philbrick), 147

Zelinsky, Paul O., 62–63, 107

Zolotow, Charlotte, 111

Zwerger, Lisbeth, 62

The idea for this book was first suggested to me by my friend Ruth Gordon, librarian, writer, anthologist, and an extraordinary critic in her own right. I would like to thank her for suggesting it and for trusting me to do it. I would also like to acknowledge Robert O. Warren, who edited the first edition of
From Cover to Cover
, and Phoebe Yeh, who edited this current edition. Their unflagging enthusiasm for the book has been an inspiration.

The work could not have been completed without the fine children’s literature collection at the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, a library of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin–Madison. My colleagues at the Cooperative Children’s Book Center have enthusiastically offered their support and encouragement. I am indebted to director emerita, Ginny Moore Kruse, my friend and mentor, who has guided my professional growth from the first day I entered the CCBC; and to my fellow CCBC librarians, Merri Lindgren, Tessa Michaelson, Hollis Rudiger, and Megan Schliesman, who have greatly enriched the workplace with their intellect, insight, and good humor and who make it a pleasure to come to work every day. Regular participants in the CCBC’s monthly book discussions have generously shared their time and their opinions about new children’s books and have helped hone my critical skills. My friends and colleagues in other fields, who share their perspectives and wisdom, continually broaden my understanding of children’s books. I would especially like to acknowledge and thank first-grade teacher Margaret Jensen, who has helped me understand how children learn to read and how to evaluate books that make it possible for them to do so. Lastly I would like to acknowledge my partner, Emily Kokie, for her encouragement and support.

KATHLEEN T. HORNING
is the director of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She was also a children’s librarian at Madison Public Library for nine years.

Ms. Horning was the president of the Association for Library Service to Children of the American Library Association in 2007, as well as president of the United States Board on Books for Young People in 2003. She has chaired or served on a variety of children’s book award committees, including the Américas Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Award, the John Newbery, USBBY’s Hans Christian Andersen Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, the Mildred L. Batchelder Award, the ALA/ALSC’s Notable Children’s Books, and the NCTE Lee Bennett Hopkins Award committees, and she was selected to deliver the 2010 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.

She is the coauthor with Ginny Moore Kruse of
MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS
and of
CCBC CHOICES
, an annual publication reviewing the best books for children and young adults. She has a BA in linguistics and a master’s degree in library and information studies, both from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

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Cover art © 2010 by Bill Mayer