"What do Illustrators do?" is a book by Eileen Christelow that teaches students about the job of an illustrator through two illustrators who are attempting to add their individual flair to the classic story, Jack and the Beanstalk. Their furry friends, Scooter and Leonard compare their owners' progress and discuss different technical terms such as "dummy" and "rough sketch". The two illustrators take inspiration from their own lives. The first draws Jack based off of himself as a fourth grader. The other illustrator bases Jack off of her daughter, renaming the character Jacqueline. They also consider perspective and viewpoints that convey size and distance. The illustrators examine themselves in a mirror to draw facial expressions. This book would be great for students who ask "when will we ever use this" or "what can I do with drawing" during art class. Even students who do not show much interest in art will enjoy this book. It is a great story containing a lot of information explained with comical narrators. ( )

See into the world of an illustrator and discover the process it takes to illustrate a story book. It shows two different styles of two different artists. It brings facts and fun into one book. This book would be great for children just starting to read and learning about books. It can show them how books are really made. ( )

This is a very useful book that shows the entire process of illustrating a book. It takes two people illustrating the same story and how different it can be based on the pictures alone. I hadn't chosen this book on purpose, but it's very helpful now with writing and illustrating my own book. I may go back and try to find the one about authors. I liked seeing all the different decisions illustrators have to make and how big of a difference it can make. ( )

I loved this book! The illustrations were great and its a really good book to show students that there are many different factors to consider when writing and illustrating a story. I can use this book to show them how to write and illustrate their own book. I can also show them how each book can be unique and special even if they happen to pick the same topic. ( )

This is a great opener to a unit about Caldecott books because it describes the detailed process illustrators go through to complete a picture book. Good combination of fun and information.