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George and Bernette Ford are two icons of African American children's literature. George is the winner of the first Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, in 1974, for Ray Charles (written by Sharon Bell Mathis) and a past president of the Council on Interracial Books for Children. He and Bernette were also active members of the organization Black Creators for Children [see Dianne Johnson-Feelings's article on page 41]. Bernette's long career in children's publishing began at Random House in the 1970s. At Grosset & Dunlap, she became the first African American vice president of a major children's publishing house. She is the founder of the Cartwheel Books imprint at Scholastic, where she also served as a VP, and in 2003 founded Color-Bridge Books, a book packager specializing in multicultural books for children. In February 2018, Horn Book editor in chief Roger Sutton spoke with the Fords by phone about the fiftieth anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards and the history and future of Black children's books., ROGER SUTTON: What was publishing like before the Coretta Scott King Book Awards were founded? GEORGE FORD: It's a lot to think about. And I have been thinking about it. [...]

TOO FAR AWAY TO TOUCH By Leslea Newman. Illustrated by Catherine Stock. 32 pp. New York: Clarion Books. $14.95. (Ages 5 to 9) MY TWO UNCLES Written and illustrated by [...]

THE CHRISTMAS ALPHABET Written and illustrated by Richard Sabuda. Unpaged. New York: Orchard Books. $19.95. (All ages) PARTICULARLY in an era in which the word 'interactive' is thrown about so [...]

Although grateful for the support of publishers who place advertisements in The Horn Book, I've never before felt the need to direct you to such from this page. But I [...]

GRACE By Jill Paton Walsh. 256 pp. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $16. (Ages 10 and up) JILL PATON WALSH, the author of several other subtle and complex novels [...]

CECIL'S STORY By George Ella Lyon. Illustrated by Peter Catalanotto. Unpaged. New York: Orchard Books. ALL THOSE SECRETS OF THE WORLD By Jane Yolen. Illustrated by Leslie Baker. Unpaged. Boston: [...]

The article presents an interview with the graphic novelist, Gene Luen Yang on the program "Reading Without Walls Challenge". He mentions about how digital sales drives print sales, involvement of children's book writer into digital storytelling, and talks about the work of cartoonist Scott McCloud that how he use animation in his work.

The article presents an interview with Pat Scales, who is the president of ALA's Association for Library Services to Children. In the interview Scales comments on what librarians want from their job, and what parents and kids want from their library. Scales explains that when she is teaching a book to children, she likes to create interactive activities for the children. She also asserts that school's need their librarians.

LEAD: MELUSINE By Lynne Reid Banks. 248 pp. New York: Harper & Row. $12.95. (Ages 12 and up) MELUSINE By Lynne Reid Banks. 248 pp. New York: Harper & Row. [...]

LEAD: I WANT TO BE AN ASTRONAUT Written and illustrated by Byron Barton. Unpaged. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell. I WANT TO BE AN ASTRONAUT Written and illustrated by Byron [...]

LEAD: AMONG the first children's books to take on the threat of nuclear war was Dr. Seuss' ''Butter Battle Book'' (Random House, 1984). There had been many books set in [...]

The author shares his thoughts on self-publishing. He mentions a discussion of self-publishing books for children at the website of the periodical "The Horn Book" in October 2014. He observes the changes in the production values, quality of writing and market sense of self-publishing books for children.

The editor focuses on several events related to the field of children's librarianship and in celebration of children's books. He discusses the inauguration party for organization Children's Books Boston (CBB) held at Simmons College on September 12, 2013, the 11th anniversary party for the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art held in New York City on September 26, 2013, and the exhibition titled "The ABC of It: Why Children's Books Matter" at the New York Public Library (NYPL), which runs until March 2014.

An editorial is presented in which the author discusses the lack of books featuring minority characters, a debate that was addressed on the issue's website and which earned several comments from the issue's blog's readers. The Coretta Scott King Book Awards for multicultural books, minority characters in children's books, and the book "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats are mentioned, as well as an essay by Christopher Myers from the issue's website.

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses topics of articles within the November/December 2012 issue, including the question of what is a children's book, and reviews of the books "The No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird" by Atinuke and "Twelve Kinds of Ice" by Ellen Bryan Obed and Barbara McClintock.

The article discusses the work of the children's book author Maurice Sendak, with particular attention paid to the success of his book "Where the Wild Things Are." The author's favorable opinion of the book and admiration for Sendak's decision to pursue interesting projects regardless of their commercial prospects are also offered.

The article reflects on the need for librarians and other adults to promote books for children and young adults. The author suggests that some books need professional attention in order to appeal to young readers. He explains how the Fanfare list in the January/February 2012 issue includes 30 books that staff members enjoyed.

The author reflects on the effect of electronic books, electronic book readers, and applications for mobile devices on traditional books and reading in children. Comparisons are drawn between traditional books and children's book applications designed for smartphones and handheld computers. The future of reading books as an activity separate from general handheld computer use is also discussed.

An introduction to a series of publishers' previews of new authors of children's books is presented.

The article considers the right of the press to ask book award committees about their evaluation procedure. The criteria for prize selection for the Caldecott, Newbery and Sibert awards are ambiguous; many books qualify for multiple awards. The article praises the overlap in prize nominees, saying it helps to establish quality in books.

The author discusses the intricacies of book merchandising and publishing programs. Article topics include author Beatrix Potter, the importance of a publishing program of children's books, and the book industry. The author also discusses the choice market for children's books and offers her opinion on product tie-ins for popular literary characters.

The author reflects upon the Newbery awards. He discusses the phrase "most distinguished" and believes the phrase is biased at best. The author ponders the impact of a Newbery award on the book and its author. Details are given for the criticism editors face from the Newbery committee if they offer their opinions in their respective magazines and journals about what book titles they would like to see win.

The article considers reading alone, reading for fun, and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." The latest installment in J. K. Rowling's wildly popular series has attracted adults and children alike, with executives reading it on the train, adults discussing it on listservs and children burying their heads in the books for marathon reading sessions. The article argues that Harry Potter books encourage communal discussion, but the act of reading them is very private.