Books are among the best gifts that the parents can give to their children. There are a few authors who have come up with some fabulous books in recent times for young readers. These authors have the power to captivate children with their stories.
To have more of such books, we need to appreciate the authors who create them. So, here we’ve listed a few leading contemporary authors who’ve come up with excellent books for young readers:
1. Jeff Kinney
Born as Jeffrey Patrick Kinney in 1971, he is an American author and cartoonist. He is best known for his children’s book series titled Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Jeff attended the University of Maryland in the early 1990s. At the time, he created Igdoof, which ran in The Diamondback, a school student newspaper. It had become a popular comic strip in those days.
In February 2006, he signed a multi-book deal with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., during the New York Comic Con. The book became an instant success with its online version getting millions of views. Many of the online readers requested for a printed version of this book. As a result, the printed version of the first book in the series was published in April 2007.
2. Glenda Millard
Born in the state of Victoria in Australia, Glenda Millard’s first book was Unplugged! In 2003, one of her most popular children’s books titled The Naming of Tishkin Silk was released. The very next year, it was a finalist for the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards.
A follow up to this book with the title Layla, Queen of Hearts came out in 2007. It won the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award for Children’s Book in the same year. She has lived in the beautiful town of Castlemaine in Victoria all her life. She was 45, when she became a writer of children’s books and young adult fiction.
3. Graci Kim
A former Korean-Kiwi diplomat, Graci Kim is known for her The Last Fallen series. The Disney Channel chose this book trilogy inspired by Korean mythology for a television series. It has been translated into many languages. This book series was also a nominee for many awards.
Among them were Best Children’s Book for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Award and an Amazon Best Book Award. She won the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best New Talent in 2022. Before becoming an author, she has also run a business and was even a cooking show host at one point. She now lives with her husband and daughter in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
4. B.B. Alston
He is famous for his debut novel Amari and the Night Brothers. It had won the Barnes and Noble’s inaugural Children’s and YA Book Award in 2021. The book was also on the New York Times Bestseller list for over 30 weeks. B.B. Alston began writing when he was in his middle school.
He stopped writing when he entered high school and the break extended into his twenties before he started writing again. His writing process involves creating a simple outline of the book. He then keeps adding the details with every draft that follows.