The outgoing editorial team of Language Arts reflect on their insights about writing a manuscript for submission to a journal. They focus on patterns in the suggestions of reviewers and in their editorial letters over a five year period of time. They then discuss the range of decisions to consider related to planning and writing a draft,…

Presents "Language Arts" reviewers' observations about manuscripts they have reviewed over the years. Focuses on: what reviewers observed in the language arts field; specific comments on authors' writing; and constructive suggestions for prospective authors. (MM)

Reports on a visit with the children's author Joan Aiken as she talks about her childhood and family. Offers a sampling of recent reviews of Aiken's work. (MG)

Shares excerpts from an interview with George Ella Lyon who is a poet, playwright, teacher, and author of both adult and children's books. (MG)

Shares responses from a survey of educators who had published articles in "Language Arts," to determine any features common to their writing and publishing experiences and what advice they would offer to other teachers wishing to publish. (HTH)

Interviews Walter Dean Myers about his childhood years, his interests in writing and reading, and his accomplishments as an author of children's literature. (MG)

Offers half a dozen methods for "publishing" or sharing students' written work. These include reader's theatre for students' poetry, medieval manuscript illumination, and computer graphics. (HTH)

Offers comments, intended for writers of language arts education articles, discussing both positive and negative aspects of the writing that the editors and editorial board and staff of this journal have seen in the writing submitted over the past few years. (SR)

Draws from a range of sources including individual telephone interviews to identify the many individual contributions to the field of children's literature by the Pinkneys. Presents interview notes and children's literature notes from Jerry Pinkney, Gloria Jean Pinkney, Brian Pinkney, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Myles C. Pinkney, and Sandra L. Pinkney.…

Addresses three questions: (1) what individual paths lead selected nonmainstream writers from the "Tenderloin" inner-city area of San Francisco to their craft; (2) how the contexts and relationships with the community support the growth of written expression; and (3) how this support affects individual and community growth. (MG)

Presents an interview with Mildred Pitts Walter, an award winning author noted for her positive images of African Americans and a genuine respect for youth. Notes that Walter's career reaffirms the connection between politics and art and demonstrates the impossibility of separating the artist from the context out of which she writes. (RS)

Presents an interview with author Jack Gantos, whose career spans almost 25 years. Notes how he spoke passionately about his craft and about supporting emerging writers. Discusses how avid journaling is one technique that he uses that could benefit anyone. (SG)

Examines the last five years of articles in this journal to show what topics were most often written about (the "Top Picks" or "TopPics"). Discusses these results and makes recommendations that deserve considerable attention in the future. Notes that integrated language arts was a perennial TopPic. (SR)

Presents a profile of children's author Brian Jacques. Discusses his writing and where he finds his inspiration. Explores four of his books. Discusses his interaction with his editors. (SG)

Explores the creation of "An Extraordinary Life: The Story of a Monarch Butterfly." Selects this book because of the unprecedented decision to give the 1998 Orbis Pictus Award to both the author and the illustrator for a work in which text and illustration melded together. Develops an event model, revealing the creation of this…