As a mother of three very active kiddos, ages eight, six, and three, I recognize that there are too many good books and not enough time to read all of them. When we read a book and think, “We can’t imagine missing this one!”, we go back to the library and check out all of that author’s titles. Here are five contemporary authors by whom we have read everything the library carries. We can’t imagine missing out on these five fabulous contemporary kids’ book authors. . .  in no particular order:

 Amy Krouse Rosenthal:

Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a New York Times Best Seller and published by top publishers such as Harper Collins, Chronicle Books, and Scholastic. We love her humor, play on words, and point of view in her books. Among our favorites are: Exclamation Point!, Plant a Kiss, Little Pea, Little Hoot, and Little Oink, Chopsticks, Bedtime for Mommy, and One of Those Days. We still need to read Uni the Unicorn. Wumbers, her latest book, will be released March 3, 2015! Learn more at http://www.whoisamy.com/

Here are a few blog posts featuring her and her work:
http://kidsbookf…riends.com/…/09/04/plant-a-kiss-endless-bl…/https://kidsbookfriends.com/…/little-pea-little-hoot-eat-ri…/
https://kidsbookfriends.com/…/kidsbook-friends-clip-5-great…/

 Kevin Henkes:

Kevin Henkes has been writing and illustrating books for over thirty years. We love his characters, plots, and messages. Our favorites are: Penny, Sheila Rae, Chrysanthemum, A Good Day, My Garden, Little While Rabbit and All Alone.
On his website which includes his bio, resources for teachers and librarians, games and more, Kevin comments, “Books are often the first exposure to art that children have. Keeping that in mind urges me to make the very best books possible. I know how important the books from my childhood were (and are) to me. Without them, I might not be a writer and artist today.” Read more at http://www.kevinhenkes.com/

Here are a couple of previous blog posts featuring books by Kevin Henkes:
https://kidsbookfriends.com/2014/04/18/an-imaginative-friend/
https://kidsbookfriends.com/…/guest-blogger-5-books-to-keep…/

 Sam McBratney:

Sam McBratney was born in Northern Ireland and has written over fifty books for young readers. He was a secondary history and English teacher. His 400 word picture book, Guess How Much I Love You, sold over 1 million copies, secured him a position on multiple best seller lists, and launched his full-time writing career. We love the strong messages of love, belonging and kindness in his books. Among our favorites are: Just You and Me, You’re All My Favorites and Guess How Much I Love You, along with his other adventures of Little Nutbrown Hare. Read more at http://biography.jrank.org/pages/1876/McBratney-Sam-1943.html

Here are blog post featuring Sam McBratney’s work:
https://kidsbookfriends.com/2014/04/29/april-showers/
https://kidsbookfriends.com/…/…/08/a-mothers-love-multiplies/

Karma Wilson:

Karma Wilson never really considered being a professional author since her mother chose that career. However, after a series of events, including becoming the mother of three kids, she gave it a try. “Countless rejections and three years later Karma was finally accepted by book agent Steven Malk (who had already rejected her once, which she never lets him forget). Her first book, Bear Snores On, was released in 2002.  . . Since then Karma has had more than 30 books accepted for publication. Many of those are on the shelves of libraries and bookstores around the world. Her books have received numerous state and national awards, been translated into dozens of languages, and a few have made an appearance on the New York Times bestseller list. Karma sincerely hopes that her books bring joy to children and families everywhere.”

We love her cute characters, strong friendships, and adventures in her books. Although her “Bear Series” is her most popular, we also love her other titles: Mortimer’s First Garden, Mortimer’s Manger, Who Goes There?, Hogwash, and more. Check out her site: http://www.karmawilson.com/

Here is a blog post featuring our favorite of Karma Wilson’s work:
https://kidsbookfriends.com/2014/03/31/waiting-for-a-miracle/

 Jan Brett:

Jan Brett wanted to be an illustrator since she was a child and spent many rainy days drawing. Growing up in Massachusetts, she eventually attended Boston Museum School. Her experiences, schooling, pets and travel are inspirations for her writing and illustrations.

We feel like her adorable characters (especially Hedgie) are our friends as her detailed illustrations and well written, memorable stories make the characters come alive. Our list of favorite titles are too long, so here are just some: The Easter Egg, The Mitten, The Hat, Gingerbread Friends, The Three Snow Bears and illustrations in Mother’s Day Mice. Her website is amazing with all kinds of activities, cards and games for each book: http://www.janbrett.com

Here are blog post featuring Jan Brett’s work:
https://kidsbookfriends.com/…/wonderful-winter-book-for-eac…/
https://kidsbookfriends.com/…/the-last-one-there-is-a-winni…/
https://kidsbookfriends.com/…/5-more-days-many-fun-wayssurp…/
https://kidsbookfriends.com/…/…/06/the-hat-animals-wear-that/
https://kidsbookfriends.com/…/…/the-mitten-one-size-fits-all/

*Which contemporary authors would you add to this list?

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