P.J. Lynch
The internationally acclaimed Ulster-born illustrator was influenced by Raymond Briggs, one of his college tutors in Brighton. So it's no surprise that The Snowman tops his list. The Once and Future King by T.H. White, the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, spawned a musical (Camelot) and a cartoon (The Sword in the Stone). But there's nothing like the original, says Lynch. It's A Jungle Out There, written and illustrated by Ed Miliano, and Flora McDonald's ABC (she's another illustrator), are both excellent for the under-sixes. And for good readers aged eight to 10, he recommends Sarah, Plain And Tall by Patricia McLoughlin, a modern American classic, now a film.
Aislinn O'Loughlin
The 17-year-old Dublin schoolgirl author of books like The Emperor's Birthday Suit and Shak & The Beanstalk (published by Wolfhound) is a Roald Dahl fan, and nominates Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as two of her favourite Dahl books. She also liked Dublin writer Marilyn Taylor's Could I Love A Stranger?, and Good Omens by Terry Pratchett. And The Christmas Miracle Of Jonathan Toomey is one of her favourite children's books.
Marita Conlon-McKenna
Her Famine trilogy has established ConlonMcKenna as one of Irish children's best-loved writers. Her own top five include Winnie The Pooh by A.A. Milne, with illustrations by E.H. Shepard, "for all ages, adult and children"; Gobbolino, The Witch's Cat by Ursula Moray Williams, for 6 to 10-year-olds; The Little House In The Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (for seven to 13 years, from the series made more famous by TV); Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt (for 11 to 14s), and for tinies, Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury, Can't You Sleep Little Bear? by Martin Waddell, and Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg.
Siobhan Parkinson
Author of several books for young people, her latest book is Four Kids, Three Cats, Two Cows, One Witch (maybe), aimed at ages 10plus. Her own favourites include classics like Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, but it must be in a version with the original Tenniel illustrations; A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and The Story Of The Treasure Seekers by E.B. Nesbitt, both for 10 to 12-year-olds. She buys Martin Waddell's Can't You Sleep Little Bear for every child she knows when it's born. And for young adults (15plus) she recommends Junk by Melvyn Burgess, a controversial award-winning book about heroin addiction. "It's powerful, convincing, unpatronising, and would put anyone off the idea of heroin for good."
Gerard Whelan
New Irish children's author Gerard Whelan won awards for his Guns Of Easter, a story of children set at the time of the Rising, and he's working on a sequel to that - while his horror tale, Dream Invader, is just out. He recommends Susan Cooper's The Darkness Rising sequence for 10 to 14-year-olds who like tales of the supernatural. He didn't discover her books until he was an adult, but fell in love with Kenneth Grahame's The Wind In The Willows when he was just seven. As father of a young son, he discovered Jez Allboro's Where's My Teddy?, "a charming, intelligent, beautifully-illustrated book", and Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad books (these may be hard to find here.) He's another fan of The Christmas Miracle Of Jonathan Toomey, likes the SPOT pop-up books for small children, and Ladybird books - "a shining example of well-produced, well-condensed" books for small children.
