For our 20th author, I'd like to recommend William Steig. His began writing children's book in 1968 and his third book, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, won the Caldecott Medal in 1970. He went on to win a Caldecott Honor book and received 2 Newbery Honor awards for his picture books. Since the Newbery is awarded for writing, while the Caldecott is for illustration, William Steg was equally adept at both. On the basis of his entire body of work, Steig was selected as the 1982 U.S. candidate for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Illustration and subsequently as the 1988 U.S. candidate for Writing. (http://us.macmillan.com/author/williamsteig) His book Shrek, was made into a popluar Dreamworks movie franchise.
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, is the story of a little donkey who finds a magic pebble. It seems like a wonderful thing, until he wishes to be a rock in order to escape a lion. However will he be able to become himself again? As in all of Steig's books the illustrations reveal his background as a cartoonist.
Doctor DeSoto, a Newbery Honor book in 1983 is one of my all time favorite books. It tells the story a a mouse dentist : "Doctor DeSoto, the dentist, did very good work, so he had no end of patients...Being a mouse her refused to treat animals dangerous to mice, and it said so on his sign." But one day, he takes pity on a fox with a terrible toothache. How will he avoid becoming lunch?
Finally, if you have watched the movies, you need to read the original Shrek!
Check out the wonderful writing and illustrations in William Steig's picture books - you won't be disappointed!
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