For Frederick and all of the children who write and illustrate their own little books D K Author’s Note it’s the perfect combination of words and pictures that makes a book we want to read again and again Many of our favorite picture books and early readers were created by author and-illustrator partners Sometimes an author and illustrator work together face-to-face and sometimes like Sam and Tom they never even meet The fact remains that the stories we love just wouldn’t be the same if the writer or illustrator were replaced by someone else That’s how important the right combination is The magic they make together is greater than the sum of its parts Since my book A Friend’s Tale is about how teamwork can make a great book as Mrs Forrester the librarian says i thought it would be fun to put some of the great col laborators of children’s books in the backgrounds of my own illustrations i asked some of my librarian friends for suggestions about the author-illustrator partners who are important to them and to the children they spend time with every day i wish to thank the following librarians for their suggestions Heidi Cadmus laura lee Foerster Judith Gantly Miriam Ghabour Susan Koenig Starr latronica and linda Simp fendorfer library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
SAM WAS A liBRARY MouSe He lived in a little hole in the wall behind the children’s reference books Sam loved to read and he loved to write too everyone loved his little books But Sam was very shy and no one at the library had ever met him
once a week the children at the library met for Writers and illustrators Club For our next project said Mrs Forrester the librarian i would like all of the boys and girls to work with a partner one of you will be the author and the other will be the illustrator You will find out how teamwork can make a great book At the end of the meeting there was one child left standing by himself Don’t worry Tom said Mrs Forrester i’d be happy to work with you
