Adam McCauley

There are too many incredible books to list, but these come to mind first for me as important in my own upbringing. I was basically steeped in Tintin as a child, basted by Oz and Tolkien, troubled by Jansson, tickled by Asterix and taught by Lear. It wasn’t until High School that I saw Codex Seriphinianus, and I was thrown irrevocably into the world of illustration for good.

David Yoo

The Last Picture Show
Although it takes place in a tiny, dusty Texas town that's nothing like the New England town I grew up in, this is easily my favorite coming-of-age story, ever, period.
Then Again, Maybe I Won’t
Given the fact that I asked for a pair of binoculars for Christmas (for "bird watching"), too, this was the teen novel that spoke to me when I was 13.
The Postman Always Rings Twice
My favorite noir writer, this is one of the best plotted stories, ever, in my opinion, with one of the most satisfying endings to a story to boot.
Rats Saw God
This was the first recent(ish) YA novel that got me excited to write about teens, because it made me think I was reading about, well . . . me.
Rosemary’s Baby
This horror story is just about perfect in every way, and I've read it maybe 50 times in my lifetime. The movie's one of my favorites, too.
Franny and Zooey
A decidedly strange little novel that for the life of me I can't quite describe why it's one of my favorites, but it just is.

Tony DiTerlizzi

is the illustrator of The Spiiderwick Chronicles, The Spider and the Fly, Ted, and many more. He uses his powers for good.

Peter Pan and Wendy
J.M. Barrie's classic has surly pirates, bloodthirsty native Americans, a hungry crocodile, feisty faeries and flying kids with weapons . . . what more could you ask for?
Watership Down
Richard Adams takes you on an incredible quest from a home colony that’s completely eradicated to Shangri la. One the way, there are monsters, villains, allies, oh, and a fascist leader trying to seize the hero's new home . . . and its all told with rabbits. You read that right — rabbits.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Mouse buddy + toy motorcycle = Awesome!
The Lorax
In my mind, this one of Dr. Seuss’s undisputed classics. Sadly, we need the Lorax now more than ever.
Lafcadio: The Lion That Shot Back
One of Shel Silverstein's lesser known titles, but one of my all-time favorites. Actually, I learned about this one when my younger brother read it for school and had me help with his book report. It is one of those stories that you will always remember.

Sam Potts

designed this website. He also designed the JS Worldwide website. He has also designed all kinds of other stuff, beautifully.

Lou Gehrig, Boy of the Sandlots
Guernsey Van Riper Jr.
I think this is the first book I ever picked out on my own and read by myself. I'm pretty sure it is. I can tell you this for sure: Lou Gehrig always has been and always will be my favorite baseball player. And I'm from Boston, so that's saying something about the influence of this book.
What Do People Do All Day?
Richard Scarry
Before there was the Internet, there was What Do People Do All Day? to describe the whole world and everything in it. Still hours of fun to explore every page.
Stuart Little
E.B. White
He wears a sweater and sails a boat and drives a car and gets dumped on a garbage barge. Oh, and he's a mouse.
Paddle To The Sea
Holling C. Holling
An adventure story starring a carved wooden boat that travels all the way across Canda. A carved wooden boat? you say. That's right: a carved wooden boat! I wished I could be that boat.
The Great Brain, Great Brain Series
John D. Fitzgerald
This book and the other Great Brain books that followed are a handy how-to guide in the arts of scheming, swindling, cheating, and being a younger brother.
Tintin Adventures (Series)
Herge
We just called them "Tintins." I'd say, "Do you have any new Tintins?" and my friend Jamie would say, "I just finished The Black Island. You can borrow it but you have to give it back." YOu always had to give them ack because these books are precious.
Dubliners
James Joyce
Yeah it's James Joyce, but so what? He ain't so tough. The beauty of these stories is in their simplicity. You'll be able to taste the peas with vinegar and pepper in "Two Gallants." Read this when your friends are reading Catcher in the Rye. (And read that one, too.)
Ficciones
Jorge Luis Borges
A character named Borges comes across an encyclopedia of a fictional land. Pierre Menard rewrites bits of Don Quixote verbatim, by coincidence. Funes remembers everything that happened, ever. Amazing. Worth re-reading about every five years or so.
A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, Essays and Arguments
David Foster Wallace
If you get far enough to read about the toilets in the title essay, you'll probably go on to read every word Wallace ever wrote. This book also contains the most terrifying description of baton-twirling you could ever read.
Anatomy of a Typeface
Anthony Lawson
For the serious typographer as well as the font enthusiast: histories of all the classic typefaces from the days when fonts weighed about 50 pounds (because they were made out of lead). Simply indispensable.

Peter Brown

is an illustrator and a writer. Probably best know for his books about a dog named Chowder. But he’s working on plenty of new books right now.

I can't overemphasize how perfectly James Marshall balances sweetness and absurdity in these stories.
Everyone Poops
Everyone Poops is a continuous source of 'inspiration.
James and the Giant Peach
Witty dialogue, fantastical adventure and a wonderfully dark sense of humor seem to effortlessly flow from Roald Dahl's pen.
This series is perhaps the most unique, thoughtful, and provocative fantasy I’ve ever read.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
I was mesmerized by the way Verne describes the science and logic of the world in which this story takes place.