Articles

2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008
1999 and earlier

This directory lists articles currently posted on the site. Most were originally published in The Horn Book Magazine, but a few have appeared only on our website.

2008

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Acceptances (January/February 2008):
    • Nicolas Debon for The Strongest Man in the World: Louis Cyr
    • Laura Vaccaro Seeger for Dog and Bear
    • M. T. Anderson for The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing,
      Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party

Fueling the Dream Spirit by Elizabeth Partridge (January/February 2008)
Using principles of Chinese medicine to explain creative expression

Why Gossip Girl Matters by Philip Charles Crawford (January/February 2008)
Books that entice resistant teen readers

How to Choose a Goose by Joanna Rudge Long (January/February 2008)
Finding the right Mother Goose for your gosling

Tell Me Lies by Sara Pennypacker (March/April 2008)
When editorial honesty isn't always the best policy

Let's Start at the Very Beginning by Lolly Robinson (March/April 2008)
A master class on the basics

Why We Love the New Children's Laureate by Madelyn Travis (March/April 2008)
Michael Rosen reigns in England

An Interview with Rudine Sims Bishop by Kathleen T. Horning (May/June 2008)
Talking with the foremost scholar of African American children's literature

Reading about Families in My Family by Megan Lambert (May/June 2008)
What if there are no books about families like yours?

A Dad Grows Up by Christopher Paul Curtis
The effects of "parental micromanagement" on kids' reading

Trashing Elmo by Ginee Seo & Bruce Brooks
"Taste . . . is an elusive, reaching thing."

God Knows, Philip Pullman by Anne Quirk (May/June 2008)
Do we place too much faith in literature?

2007

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Acceptances (January/February 2007):
    • Lois Ehlert for Leaf Man
    • Katherine Keiffer (accepting for Faith McNulty) for If You Decide to Go to the Moon
    • Steven Kellogg for If You Decide to Go to the Moon
    • Kate DiCamillo for The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Looking for YA Literature in the Elysian Fields by Patty Campbell (January/February 2007)
The University of Minnesota's heavenly Kerlan Collection

Musings on Diverse Worlds by Deirdre Baker (January/February 2007)
Race relations in children's fantasy.

For the McKissacks, Black Is Boundless by Barbara Bader (March/April 2007)
A couple raises African American history.

Redefining the Young Adult Novel by Jonathan Hunt (March/April 2007)
Literary YA fiction comes of age.

Storyland Scammed (PDF) by Ron Koertge (March/April 2007)
Crime scenes in the enchanted forest.

What Makes a Good Dinosaur Book? Beyond Barney by Danielle J. Ford (May/June 2007)
How to identify prehistoric treasures.

Blogging the Kidlitosphere by Elizabeth Bird (May/June 2007)
Inside a brave new world.

Susan Patron by Virginia A. Walter (July/August 2007)
Profile of the Newbery Medalist.

Ten by Richard Jackson (July/August 2007)
Profile of the Newbery Medalist.

David Wiesner by Dinah Stevenson (July/August 2007)
Profile of the Caldecott Medalist.

James Marshall by Regina Hayes (July/August 2007)
Remembering the 2007 Laura Inalls Wilder medalist.

My Search for the Wrong Title by Michael J. Rosen (July/August 2007)
Striking out at the old ball game.

Gender Alchemy: The Transformative Power of Manga by J.D. Ho (September/October 2007)
Why girls love “boys’ love” manga

A Second Look: Annie on My Mind by Roger Sutton (September/October 2007)
When lesbianism stopped being a problem

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad . . . ? by Patty Campbell (September/October 2007)
Sex and the bookish teenager

When Comic Book Characters Write Children's Books by Matthew Holm and Jennifer Holm (September/October 2007)
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman’s picture book!

Little Men, Little Women (September/October 2007)
    • My Brother's Bookshelf by Cecil Castellucci
    • Evelyn and Me by Sarah Ellis
    • Hating the Hardy Boys by John Green
    • Kissing My Elbow by Janice Harrington
    • Dolls and Monsters by Brian Selznick

Epic Fantasy Meets Sequel Prejudice by Jonathan Hunt (November/December 2007)
Do critics shortchange sequels?

Recommended Reissues: Squeezing the Orange by Terri Schmitz (November/December 2007)
Separating the bitter from the sweet

Abecedarians Badly Conceived by Patrick Jennings (November/December 2007)
A list of unfortunate attempts

2006

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Acceptances (January/February 2006):
    • Mini Grey for Traction Man Is Here!
    • Neal Schusterman for The Schwa Was Here
    • Phillip Hoose for The Race to Save the Lord God Bird

Liftoff: When Books Leave the Page by Jean Gralley (January/February 2006)
The future of digital picture books is now.

The Writer's Page: To Be Continued . . .  by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (January/February 2006)
Why the novelist writes series.

Graphic Novels 101: FAQ by Robin Brenner (March/April 2006)
A crash course for new readers.

Graphic Novels: Reading Lessons (PDF) by Hollis Margaret Rudiger (March/April 2006)
The medium and its messages.

“He Doth Bestride the Narrow World Like a Colossus . . .” by Vicky Smith (March/April 2006)
Can the Bard play to a younger audience?

Recommended Reissues: Behind the Times by Terri Schmitz (March/April 2006)
Old fashioned favorites come back to the future.

Foreign Correspondence: Stories to Make Mountains Start Breathing by Judith Ridge (March/April 2006)
Bridging Australia's racial divides.

Tana Hoban: She Made You Look Again and Again by Barbara Bader (May/June 2006)
A memorial portrait of the famed photographer.

How To Put Words into a Child’s Mouth by Tim Wynne-Jones (May/June 2006)
Sharing the word wealth.

What Ails Bibliotherapy? by Maeve Visser Knoth (May/June 2006)
Books can’t cure everything.

Digging for Home by George Ella Lyon (May/June 2006)
A picture book writer turns singer/songwriter
      Sheet music (PDF)
      Audio of song (MP3)

Title to Come (PDF) by Sarah Ellis (May/June 2006)
A good name is hard to find.

Lynne Rae Perkins by Viriginia Duncan (July/August 2006)
Profile of the 2006 Newbery Medalist.

The Gifts of Chris Raschka by Richard Jackson (July/August 2006)
Profile of the 2006 Caldecott Medalist.

Best in Show by Leda Schubert (July/August 2006)
How is a Westminster Kennel Club Judge like the Caldecott Committee?

Beatrix & Bertha by Lolly Robinson (July/August 2006)
How Beatrix Potter cottoned to the Horn Book

Mostly by Brian Doyle (July/August 2006)
Respecting the natural intelligence of children.

The Lit of Chick Lit by Patty Campbell (July/August 2006)
Seriously considering a frothy genre.

Stars by Roger Sutton (September/October 2006)
An insider's look at all that glitters.

Working with Fear by Nancy Werlin (September/October 2006)
Writing good books about bad people

What Makes a Good Fantasy?: Special Effects by Deirdre Baker (September/October 2006)
How do our best fantasies stand out?

A Letter to Parents by Robin Smith (September/October 2006)
Favorites for second graders

Unlikely Titles by Ron Koertge (September/October 2006)
Books you won't find anywhere

The Mary Sue Project by Lelac Almagor (November/December 2006)
Fifth-graders write themselves into the story

Anushka Ravishankar's Indian Nonsense by Michael Heyman (November/December 2006)
India's answer to Edward Lear

What Makes a Good Gift Book? / Step Aside! by Roger Sutton (November/December 2006)
Shopping with the editor of The Horn Book

2005

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Acceptances (January/February 2005):
    • Mordicai Gerstein for The Man Who Walked between the Towers
    • Jim Murphy for An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the
      Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793
    • David Almond for The Fire-Eaters

On Spies and Purple Socks and Such by Kathleen T. Horning (January/February 2005)
Reading the gay subtext in Harriet the Spy.

On the Cover: Inside and Outside by Lynne Rae Perkins (January/February 2005)
What the artist was thinking.

Trina by Lois Lowry (January/February 2005)
Remembering the late Trina Schart Hyman.

Echoes of the Old Plantation by Barbara Bader (March/April 2005)
Is romantic racialism having a revival?

On the Cover: The Carrot Seed by Maurice Sendak (March/April 2005)
Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss remembered by an adopted son (of sorts).

Charlotte's Website (PDF) by Tim Wynne-Jones (March/April 2005)
The spider in cyberspace.

On Originality in Children's Poetry by J. Patrick Lewis (May/June 2005)
Why it requires borrowing.

Purposeful Poetry by Susan Dove Lempke (May/June 2005)
Forcing poetry into the lesson plan.

Audio Poetry: A Call to Words by Kristi Elle Jemtegaard (May/June 2005)
A longtime listener's favorite recordings.

"Writing poetry for children is a curious occupation": Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath
by Lissa Paul (May/June 2005)
The couple laureate and the Horn Book.

Kevin Henkes — Twenty-five Years by Susan Hirschman (July/August 2005)
Profile of the 2005 Caldecott Medalist.

Cynthia Kadohata by Caitlyn M. Dlouhy (July/August 2005)
Profile of the 2005 Newbery Medalist.

Laurence Yep by Joanne Ryder (July/August 2005)
Profile of the 2005 Wilder Medalist.

Ordinary Joes by Nell Beram (July/August 2005)
Pitching to middle grade boys.

Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Anita Burkam (August 2005 web)
A second helping of Willie Wonka.

The Curious Incident of the BBC Radio Show by Madelyn Travis (September/October 2005)
Harry casts a spell on adult readers

Wishful Thinking by Sarah Ellis (September/October 2005)
Why the acclaimed children’s writer is rethinking the company she keeps.

As Good As Gold by Terri Schmitz (September/October 2005)
The welcome return of supernanny Nurse Matilda and other literary stalwarts.

Online Intrigue in an Arizona Library by Tim Wadham (September/October 2005)
How one system created its own digital whodunnit.

Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle by Anita Burkam (September/October 2005)
Diana Wynne Jones goes anime.

Cadenza (September/October 2005)
Inside the dream team of ALA’s book cart competition.

Up the Down Staircase: Where Snoop and Shakespeare Meet by Janet McDonald (November/December 2005)
Why the novelist goes uptown with the classics.

The Ugly Duckling Goes to the Castle by Elena Abos (November/December 2005)
Celebrating a great Dane's bicentennial.

2004

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Acceptances (January/February 2004):
    • Phyllis Root and Helen Oxenbury for Big Momma Makes the World
    • Anne Fine for The Jamie and Angus Stories
    • Maira Kalman for Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey

Marc Simont's Sketchbooks: The Art Academy Years: 1935–1938 by Leonard S. Marcus and Marc Simont (March/April 2004)
Portraits (and other doodles) by the artist as a young man.

Accessing the International Children's Digital Library by June Cummins (March/April 2004)
Finding the real audience for a virtual collection.

Cutting the Cheese by Christine Heppermann (May/June 2004)
Slicing adult material down to size for a picture book audience.

Tigers and Poodles and Birds, Oh My! by Tim Wynne-Jones (May/June 2004)
The curious publishing story of three crossover novels.

Holden at Sixteen by Bruce Brooks (May/June 2004)
Catching up with Holden Caufield.

Kate DiCamillo by Jane Resh Thomas (July/August 2004)
Profile of the 2004 Newbery Medalist.

Mordicai Gerstein by Elizabeth Gordon (July/August 2004)
Profile of the 2004 Caldecott Medalist

Chick Lit and Chick Flicks: Secret Power or Flat Formula? by Lauren Adams (November/December 2004)
Gossip Girl v. Mean Girls — girl power in books and movies

2003

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Acceptances (January/February 2003):
    • Elizabeth Partridge for This Land Was Made for You and Me
    • Graham Salisbury for Lord of the Deep
    • Bob Graham for "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate

Narrative and Violence by Jennifer Armstrong (March/April 2003)
The value of literature in dangerous times.

What Do You See?: The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art by Lolly Robinson (May/June 2003)
Touring a pioneering museum on its opening days.

Avi by Donna Bray (July/August 2003)
Profile of the 2003 Newbery Medalist.

Eric Rohmann by Philip Pullman (July/August 2003)
Profile of the 2003 Caldecott Medalist.

Eric Carle by Ann Beneduce (July/August 2003)
Profile of the 2003 Wilder Medalist.

Recomended Reissues: Guilty Pleasures by Terri Schmitz (September/October 2003)
Why Trixie Belden and her buddies are aging so well.

Teaching New Readers to Love Books by Robin Smith (September/October 2003)
A second grade teacher's well-stocked classroom library.

An Interview with Maurice Sendak by Roger Sutton (November/December 2003)
A conversation on life, death, dreams, and plankton.

2002

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Acceptances (January/February 2002):
    • Cynthia DeFelice for Cold Feet
    • Joan Dash for The Longitude Prize
    • Marilyn Nelson for Carver: A Life in Poems

Recommended Reissues: Just Ask Terri by Terri Schmitz (January/February 2002)
A bookseller offers unsolicited advice to publishers

There and Back Again: Tolkien Reconsidered by Susan Cooper (March/April 2002)
A fantasy novelist looks again at a rather well-known trilogy by one of her Oxford dons

Looking like a Wonton and Talking like a Fortune Cookie by Christine Heppermann (March/April 2002)
Do children's book reviewers need more bite?

As Good as Reading? by Pamela Varley (May/June 2002)
How audiobooks are speaking to young readers.

Back to the Laurel Grove by Brian Alderson (May/June 2002)
Quentin Blake, Britain's first Children's Laureate.

David Wiesner by Anita Silvey (July/August 2002)
Profile of the 2002 Caldecott Medalist.

Linda Sue Park by Dinah Stevenson (July/August 2002)
Profile of the 2002 Caldecott Medalist.

Where Ideas Really Come From by Tim Wynne-Jones (September/October 2002)
The contributions of Amish bowlers and other inspirations.

Astonishing George by Mary Pope Osborne (November/December 2002)
An admirer of George Washington wants to know what he would think of her.

Diagnosis, Please by Katherine Paterson (November/December 2002)
The author of Jip, His Story wonders what ails her character and his historical counterpart?

How the Little House Gave Ground: The Beginnings of Multiculturalism in a New, Black Children’s Literature by Barbara Bader (November/December 2002)
The revolutionary Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

2001

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Acceptances (January/February 2001):
   • D. B. Johnson for Henry Hikes to Fitchburg
    • Franny Billingsley for The Folk Keeper
    • Marc Aronson for Sir Walter Ralegh and the Search for El Dorado

Unlucky Arithmetic: Thirteen Ways to Raise a Nonreader by Dean Schneider and Robin Smith (March/April 2001) (PDF)
A tongue-in-cheek directive for discouraging young readers.

Editors Absconditi by Brian Alderson (May/June 2001)
Dipping into the Internet's muddy waters of children's lit chat.

An Interview with Virginia Euwer Wolff by Roger Sutton (May/June 2001)
Talking about poetry and prose with the author of Make Lemonade and True Believer.

Slippery Slopes and Proliferating Prizes by Marc Aronson (May/June 2001)
A critique of identity-based awards, such as the Coretta Scott King and Pura Belpre Awards.

Richard Peck by Marc Talbert (July/August 2001)
Profile of the 2001 Newbery Medalist.

David Small by Patricia Lee Gauch (July/August 2001)
Profile of the 2001 Caldecott Medalist.

Milton Meltzer by Wendy Saul (July/August 2001)
Profile of the 2001 Wilder Medalist.

Awards That Stand on Solid Ground by Andrea Davis Pinkney (September/October 2001)
A response to Marc Aronson's "Slippery Slopes and Proliferating Prizes."

Tolerance Is Not Enough by Suzanne Fisher Staples (November/December 2001) Lessons learned as a journalist covering the Soviet-Afghan war in 1981.

Journeys of the Spirit by Betsy Hearne (November/December 2001)
Should young readers have a strictly secular literary diet?

The Republic of Heaven by Philip Pullman (November/December 2001)
On the death of God and its consequences, from our special issue on politics and religion.

Crossing the Money Boundary by Patsy Aldana (November/December 2001)
"I would posit that the greatest, most defining boundary in our . . . world of children's books is money."

2000

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Acceptances (January/February 2000):
    • Louis Sachar for Holes
    • Nic Bishop and Joy Cowley for Red-Eyed Tree Frog
    • Steve Jenkins for The Top of the World: Climbing Mt. Everest
    • Peter Sis for Tibet: Through the Red Box

Hunting Down Harry Potter by Kimbra Wilder Gish (May/June 2000)
A conservative Christian librarian offers a view from her side.

"Too Much of a Good Thing?" by Christine Heppermann (July/August 2000)
A mother considers her bookish toddler.

Christopher Paul Curtis by Wendy Lamb (July/August 2000)
Profile of the 2000 Newbery Medalist.

Across the Drawing Board from Simms Taback by Reynold Ruffins (July/August 2000)
Profile of the 2000 Caldecott Medalist.

Blood from a Stone by Jennifer Armstrong (September/October 2000)
How one writer paves her pathway to art.
     Nancy Werlin responds
     Jane Yolen responds

Barbara Cooney by Barbara Bader (September/October 2000)
An appreciation of the late artist.

Future Classics (November/December 2000)
Today's authors recommend books for tomorrow's children:
    • Avi's choices
    • Susan Cooper's choices
    • Virginia Hamilton's choices
    • Lois Lowry's choices
    • Gregory Maguire's choice
    • Jacqueline Woodson's choices

The Newest Medium: Illustrating with Save and Undo by Lolly Robinson (November/December 2000)
How computers are changing artists, and how they aren't.

1999 and earlier

1999

Barbara Bader examines six milestones in the Horn Book's first seventy-five years:
    • Treasure Island by the Roadside (January/February 1999)
          Selling children's books off the back of a truck.
    • Peter Says Please (March/April 1999)
          Beatrix Potter befriends the Horn Book.
    • Politi for Christmas (May/June 1999)
          An up-and-coming artist's holiday keepsake.
    • Preach and Practice by Barbara Bader (July/August 1999)
          Editor Ethel Heins ascends her bully pulpit.
    • Realms of Gold and Granite (September/October 1999)
          Miss Mahony opens her Bookshop for Boys and Girls in 1916.
    • One Childhood, One World (November/December 1999)
          The Horn Book's global vision was always clear.

Eight Ways to Say You: The Challenges of Translation by Cathy Hirano (January/February 1999)
The balancing acts of a Japanese-to-English translator.

Gotterdammerund or Bust by Philip Pullman (January/February 1999)
In trilogy writing, the third time's the charm.

Plot Does Matter by Tim Wadham (July/August 1999)
How Holes and A Long Way to Chicago make the case for strong plots.

Horn Book Reminiscences (September/October 1999)
    • Lillian N. Gerhardt
    • Elizabeth Dyer Halbrooks
    • Johanna Hurwitz
    • Karen Jameyson
    • Elizabeth Orton Jones
    • Lee Kingman
    • Karen Klockner
    • Jane Manthorne
    • Jill Paton Walsh and John Rowe Townsend
    • Nancy Sheridan
    • Isabel Wilner

Pets and Other Fishy Books by Monica Edinger (November/December 1999)
Some books make excellent classroom pets.

1998

Writing Backward: Modern Models in Historical Fiction by Anne Scott MacLeod (January/February 1998)
Historical revisionism in some of today’s most popular novels.

Making Picture Books: The Pictures by Barbara Cooney (March/April 1998)
A picture book master recalls her different artistic techniques.

Studio views from seven artists (March/April 1998):
    • Family Albums by Margaret Miller
    • My Next Medium by Chris Raschka
    • The Sculptural Quality by Arthur Geisert
    • Pulp Painting by Denise Fleming
    • Tiny Pieces of Paint by Peter Sis
    • Ticonderoga #2 by Donald Crews
    • Sharpie Markers to the Rescue by Lynn Reiser

Design Matters by Jon Scieszka, designed by Molly Leach (March/April 1998)
How ugly duck prose gets transformed by good design.

To Get a Little More of the Picture: Reviewing Picture Books by Karla Kuskin (March/April 1998)
How one picture book creator evaluates the work of her peers.

Following in Their Fathers' Paths by Rudine Sims Bishop (March/April 1998)
John Steptoe's and Walter Dean Myers's sons take up the baton from their fathers.

"Mom, Look! It's George, and He's a TV Indian!" by Debbie Reese (September/October 1998)
Native Americans aren't history.

Dear Clueless: The Rejection Letters of Edna Albertson by Peter Sieruta (November/December 1998)
A cautionary tale for aspiring editors.

"How Do I Get My Book Reviewed (Nicely)?" by Roger Sutton (web 1998)
The Horn Book's Editor offers handy tips about reviewers.

Illustrating Mama Bear by Lolly Robinson (web 1998)
Step-by-step through the publishing process with a new illustrator.

1997

History Changes Color: A Story in Three Parts by Barbara Bader (January/February 1997)
Carter Woodson, Arna Bontemps, and Black History Month

Heather and Her Critics by Lesléa Newman (March/April 1997)
Reaction to Heather Has Two Mommies by the book’s author.

Have Book Bag, Will Travel: A Practical Guide to Reading Aloud by Mary M. Burns and Ann A. Flowers (March/April 1997)
Step-by-step guidelines for how to read aloud and an annotated list of what to read.

Rumpeta-ing through Reading: Picture Books for the Very Young by Martha V. Parravano (March/April 1997)
Favorites of one young child and her book-reviewer mother.

Board Books Go Boom by Kathleen T. Horning (March/April 1997)
How to evaluate what works (Red, Blue, Yellow Shoe) and what doesn't (The Origin of the Species)

“Tell the Lady What You Like”: Shopping for Children’s Books By Terri Schmitz (March/April 1997)
An insider's how-to on getting the most out of children's book stores.

Four writers on family reading (March/April 1997):
    • "Luckily" by Peter Sis
    • "Have a carrot" by Cynthia Voigt
    • "Again" by Kevin Henkes
    • "Look" by Lois Lowry

1996

Tom Feelings and The Middle Passage by Rudine Sims Bishop (July/August 1996)
The horrors of the African slave trade in black and white

Sambo, Babaji, and Sam by Barbara Bader (September/October 1996)
Little Black Sambo makes a comeback

Readers Request, Or, YOU ASKED FOR IT by Jon Scieszka (November/December 1996)
A handy guide to pronoucing tough names, like the author's.

1995

Against Borders by Hazel Rochman (March/April 1995)
A noted critic on multicultural children’s literature.

1994

Making Stories Happen by Rachel Vail (May/June 1994)
How the author makes up things until they are true.

Alphabet Books by Betty Carter (May/June 1994)
The ABCs of early literacy

1991

The Artist at Work: Card Tables and Collage by Lois Ehlert (November/December 1991)
Where the author-artist got her start.

1990

Colleagues and Co-Conspirators by Steven Kellogg (November/December 1990)
It takes a village to make a picture book.

1988

Arnold Lobel by James Marshall (May/June 1988)
James Marshall's tribute to Arnold Lobel

1986

A Second Look: The Nargun and the Stars by Susan Cooper (September/October 1986)Considering Patricia Wrightson's “wonderful book, with a hypnotic sense of place”

1985

A Second Look: Five Children and It by Lloyd Alexander (May 1985)
One master storyteller appreciates another.

1978

Fantasy and Reality by Laurence Yep (April 1978)“Fantasy . . . is intimately bound up with our sense of reality”

1976

Where Do All the Prizes Go?: The Case for Nonfiction by Milton Meltzer (February 1976)
A passionate plea for “information” books to be judged fairly and justly rewarded.

1974

Virginia Hamilton, the Great by Jane Langton (December 1974)
An admiring appreciation by a fellow novelist.

1973

Short Talk with a Prospective Children's Writer by Astrid Lindgren (June 1973)
Tart advice from the creator of Pippi Longstocking

The Weak Place in the Cloth: A Study of Fantasy for Children: Part I by Jane Langton (Oct. 1973)
The Weak Place in the Cloth: A Study of Fantasy for Children: Part II by Jane Langton (Dec. 1973)
Langton sets out to answer the three primary questions each fantasy asks—What If? Then what? So what?—and does so brilliantly

1972–73

Eleanor Cameron vs. Roald Dahl (October 1972–October 1973)
Two heavyweights clash in a classic battle.

1971

High Fantasy and Heroic Romance by Lloyd Alexander (December 1971)
"I am amazed and thankful we can still be deeply moved by worlds that never existed . . . "

1969

Who’s Lloyd Alexander? by Ann Durell (June 1969)
Profile of the 1969 Newbery Medalist.

1966

A Letter from C. S. Lewis by James E. Higgins (October 1966)
C. S. Lewis answers questions on writing for children

1965

Walt Disney Accused an interview with Frances Clarke Sayers (December 1965)
Was Walt Disney a great educator? Frances Clarke Sayers says, “No!”

The Flat-Heeled Muse by Lloyd Alexander (April 1965)
The author of the Prydain Chronicles discusses the need for ground rules when writing fantasy

1963

Not Recommended by Ruth Viguers (February 1963)
We reject the Modern Masters

Madeleine L'Engle by Hugh Franklin (August 1963)
Profile of the Newbery Medalist by her husband

News from Narnia by Lillian H. Smith (October 1963)
Narnia, real or imagined

1961

A Tale of Washington’s Irvin by Peggy Sullivan (June 1961)
Dr. Irvin Kerlan and his collection.

1959

A Children's Literary Tour of Great Britain: An Itinerary Planned by Joan H. Bodger (February 1959)
A prelude to Bodger's How the Heather Looks

Theodore Roosevelt and Children's Books by Peggy Sullivan (February 1959)
"One of our most active and versatile presidents was an enthusiastic proponent of family reading."

1952

The Three Owls’ Notebook (December 1952)
Why Anne Carroll Moore is squeamish about Charlotte’s Web.

1946

Christmas at Huckleberry Mountain Library by Lois Lenski (November/December 1946)
A Christmas memory from the 1946 Newbery Medal winner.

1943

Americans with the Wrong Ancestors by Clara Breed (July/August 1943)
The forced internment of Japanese-American young readers.
Also available in PDF. (18 MB file not suitable for slow connections)