In the United States, about 5,000 children's trade books are published annually. In a good children's book with words, the words are as important as the pictures, the text and illustrations complement and enhance each other. On the one hand, most publishers wish to contribute to the literary, artistic, educational, and emotional development of child readers, to give children pleasure, and to find and publish talented writers and illustrators who share their goals. CBC's Member List lists the names and addresses of publishers, and customarily the name of at least one person responsible for editorial matters, and includes brief descriptions of the number and kinds of books each CBC member publishes. Literary Market Place, published by R.R. Bowker Co., and available in most libraries, lists all know U.S. publishers.
New illustrators can get an idea of the characteristics of publishers' lists in several ways.
Many libraries have excellent collections of children's books, but may not have a representative sampling of this year's children's books on their shelves. Many new illustrators begin in children's books by illustrating a text that someone else has written, or by illustrating book jackets. It is often a surprise to discover of a favorite picture book how few words it has, and each one chosen with care, as are the graphic images on a page. On the content of children's books, many subjects and stories appear over and over again, sometimes because publishers want them, but often because artists have new insights about them. Illustrations for books can be prepared in many mediums and employ a variety of techniques.