The Phoenix Award of The Children's Literature Association annually honors a children's book first published twenty years earlier that deserves special recognition for its literary merit. Each year the Phoenix Award honors the author of a "book published twenty years earlier that did not win a major award at the time of its publication, but that, from the perspective of time, is deemed worthy of special recognition for its high literary quality." Since 1985, this unusual and important award has been given by the Children's Literature Association, an affiliate of the Modern Language Association. This volume, which includes an acceptance speech given at the Association's annual conference, a biographical sketch, and bibliography for each award winner or honor book, as well as all the scholarly papers presented at the conference banquet, is the third in a series. The five authors discussed in this volume are: Laurence Yep, Robert Cormier, Alan Garner, Jill Paton Walsh, and E. L. Konigsburg. Authors of honor books are: Natalie Babbitt, William Steig, Robin McKinley, Doris Orgel, Rosa Guy, and Ouida Sebestyen. The multiple perspectives of the authors and academics combine to provide valuable insights for anyone interested in the critical study of children's literature. No other award celebrates books that have stood the test of time. Libraries owning the previous volumes will certainly want this one; libraries without the previous volumes might consider buying all three. Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. “The opportunity to hear about the genesis of each work and to see into the mind and feelings of its author is a particularly strong and effective aspect of this book. The essays about other works by the award-winning authors are useful in extending the context and characteristics of each author and offer a wider perspective...graceful and insightful.” ― Children's Literature Association Quarterly “The multiple perspectives of the authors and academics combine to provide valuable insights for anyone interested in the critical study of children's literature...Libraries owning the previous volumes will certainly want this one; libraries without the previous volumes might consider buying all three.” ― School Library Journal “This is a fascinating evaluation and promotion of high quality in writing for children.” ― School Librarian Alethea Helbig , Professor, and Agnes Perkins , Professor Emeritus, English Language and Literature, Eastern Michigan University, have taught and published children's literature for many years and were instrumental in initiating master's and undergraduate programs in children's literature at Eastern Michigan. Perkins has served on the Phoenix selection committee, and Helbig has chaired the committee from its inception and is a past president of ChLA. They have published a series of encyclopedia works on fiction for children published by Greenwood and have also compiled three poetry anthologies (with Helen Hill; Crowell). Both have published numerous articles on children's literature and are working on supplements to the dictionaries of children's fiction and a book on multicultural imaginative literature for young people. Used Book in Good Condition