Daniel replies:

I have trouble listing favorite authors. So many, and my preferences and choices change from day to day. As a kid, I soon moved on from such picture-books as were available and remember toiling through adventure novels, including Jules Verne, R.L. Stevenson, Dickens, Hugo-- all made accessible by the precious Classics Comics, which one would read first, to get a general idea, and then tackle the book. We lost a fantastic resource when those stopped publication.
At present, I am getting a look at current kids' books in connection with my once-a-month job as the kiddie book guy on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon. Fairly discouraging. I have to go through a lot of mediocre books to find one worth talking about. So far, my observation is that Fararr Straus and Giroux and Henry Holt have pretty consistenly good lists, and most others are mainly dross, with a few good books thrown in.