In a brief introduction Leonard Marcus discusses collaboration and suggests several ways in which picture book teams get started. They might be partners in their personal lives. Perhaps a book editor matches an artist and author with each other. Maybe they were introduced by a mutual friend. Some work together throughout their joint careers, and some collaborate for a only a short while. The book creators and books discussed in this profile of five author/artist teams are Arthur Yorinks and Richard Egielski ( Louis the Fish, Farrar, 1980), Alice Provensen and Martin Provensen ( The Glorious Flight, Viking, 1983), Jon Scieszka, Lane Smith, and Molly Leach ( The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales , Viking, 1992), Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney ( Sam and the Tigers , Dial, 1996), and Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen (The Magic School Bus Explores the Senses, Scholastic, 1999). Excellent decisions were made in selecting both the teams profiled and a book to represent the work of each. There’s variety galore in terms of the five books, each pair’s working habits, and the preferred medium of each artist. The interviews with these book creators contain information not usually found in other sources. Visual information includes color photos of each author and artist, replicas of early pages from manuscripts and artwork, and reproductions from each published book. A glossary and index are at the end of this dynamic volume. (Ages 8–adult)