Over the years, after going to countless SCBWI Children's Books Writing and Illustrating Conferences and Workshops, I have assembled this large list of books on craft. Please share with me your favorite books on craft in the comments. Check out my blog post: Paths to Publication on the different ways to get your book produced for readers.
Writing Craft
A Kick in the Head, by Paul B. Janeczko
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott
Characters and Viewpoint, by Orson Scott Card
Crafting Stories for Children, Nancy Lamb
Picture Writing, Anatasia Suen
What’s Your Story: A Young Person’s Guide to Writing Fiction, Marion Dane Bauer
Writing it Right, by Sandy Asher
Writing Picture Books, by Ann Whitford Paul
Illustration Craft
Cartoon Animation, by Preston Blair
Children’s Picturebooks–The Art of Visual Storytelling, by M. Salisbury and M. Styles
Comic and Sequential Art, by Will Eisner
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards
Drawn to Life, by Walt Stanchfield
Expressive Anatomy for Comics and Narrative, by Will Eisner
Film Directing—Shot by Shot, by Stephen D. Katz
Illustrating Children’s Books, by Martin Salisbury
Picture Book Primer, by Denise I. Matulka
Picture This! by Molly Bang
Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Feature Shorts, by Nancy Beiman
The Art of Animal Character Design, by David Colman
What They Don’t Teach You In Art School, by Will Terry
Writing with Pictures, by Uri Shulewitz
Author and Illustrator Platform and Social Media
Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market
Create Your Writer Platform, by Chuck Sambuchino
Get Known Before the Book Deal, by Christina Katz