By KAREN MACPHERSON, Scripps Howard News Service

When Don Freeman moved from California to New York City in the late 1920s, he hoped to make a living as a jazz trumpeter.

It happens all the time: Whenever "Princess Diaries" author Meg Cabot does a book signing, young girls -- usually tagging along with their older sisters -- tell her wistfully that "my mom won't let me read your books."

Celebrate Black History Month by reading this year's Coretta Scott King Book Award winners.Established in 1970, the Coretta Scott King Book Award honors the late widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. by spotlighting the best children's books by black authors and illustrators.Here's a closer look at this year's recipients:

This year's four Caldecott Honor books -- honored for their outstanding illustrations -- offer something for a wide range of young readers, from babies through pre-teens.Here's a closer look at these literary gems:

Celebrate two February holidays -- Valentine's Day and Presidents Day -- with these great children's books:VALENTINE'S DAY:

Several years ago, Brian Selznick wondered if his career as a children's book illustrator had stalled.

Ask author Laura Amy Schlitz what it feels like to win the Newbery Medal, and you'll get a succinct, but emotion-laden answer."I'm drunk with joy," Schlitz said gleefully in a recent telephone interview from her home near Baltimore.

Two unusual books -- one pushing the boundaries of literary form, the other offering a new way to play with history -- have just won the most prestigious awards in children's literature.

Eight years ago, a Pittsburgh literacy group called Beginning with Books invited some experts -- including the late Fred Rogers of "Mr.

Children's-book lovers are eagerly trying to guess which books will win the prestigious Caldecott and Newbery medals.