The Paper Princess
My single most favorite illustrator of picture books for children is Elisa Kleven.
She also writes most of her wonderful books including The Paper Princess and Ernst.
Kleven illustrated my favorite non-fiction title for children: City of Angels: In and Around Los Angeles by Julie Jaskol and Brian Lewis.
My son received this book as a present for his fourth birthday. His real birthday party has always taken place in Los Angeles because it is so close to the holidays and he shares it with my mother-in-law who lives in LA. Every year they have a joint party with about a hundred Russian speakers and a ton of great food. It is a special experience that I hope he'll always have. City of Angels celebrates this real Los Angeles--the Los Angeles I love--not the Hollywood/movie star LA you see on television. Favorite children's places--Watts Towers, Olivera Street, the beach in Santa Monica are all in this book. Kleven's pictures truly capture the vibrant, immigrant energy of LA.
