Bookverdict.com

"A picture book is a dialogue between two worlds: the world of images and the world of words," says the author in his introduction to this remarkable glimpse into the work of 14 creative people. The dialogue is also between the adult artist and/or writer and the child audience, and Marcus illuminates the art form through his own dialogues with picture-book creators. In conversations that took place from 1988 to 1999, he draws out stories that will fascinate anyone who appreciates the impact of a successful picture...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

In his cogent introduction, Leonard Marcus calls picture books a "dialogue between...the world of images and the world of words" and refers to his conversations with these picture-book creators as a search for the "threads that connect the life work to the life story." Whether he is conversing with Mitsumasa Anno (in New York in 1989, through an interpreter), Charlotte Zolotow (at her home in 1998), or one of the twelve other luminaries here, Marcus has a rare gift for gentle, intelligent inquiry that elicits confidences about modes of working, life histories and concerns, and aesthetic and personal philosophies. Moreover, as Marcus is thoroughly familiar with the entire oeuvres of these illustrators and authors, the interchanges are as valuable for his insights and creative connections as for his subjects...Log In or Sign Up to Read More