Alma Flor Ada and YOU: Volume I, and: Jim Aylesworth and YOU, and: Jacqueline Briggs Martin and YOU, and: Gerald McDermott and YOU (review)

According to a foreword from series editors Sharon L. McElmeel and Sharon Coatney, this series is designed to "give you the next best thing to a real life visit with your favorite children's authors and illustrators." Each entry in the series includes a brief biography (or autobiography) and an overview of the author or illustrator's works, but the real strength of these titles lies in the direct voices of the subjects and their discussions of their own work. Ada's title contextualizes her books by placing them within broad categories such as "The Richness of Children's Folklore" and "In Search of Identity"; Stott focuses on the inspirations for McDermott's culturally situated picture books; Aylesworth's title suggests activities built on his books and related to different kinds of intelligences (e.g. "linguistic" or "visual/spatial" development); and Martin's title gives only brief book annotations, instead spending much of the book encouraging youngsters to write for themselves. While the included activities are somewhat variable, it's the individual authorial perspective that really makes these useful and engaging. These will therefore enrich curricular units and extend the ways children can interact with texts.