As the 1993 children's and young adult books begin to arrive and the consideration for review starts, it is a good time to summarize the trends that I saw in the books for the past year. Considering the fact that I read only about 10 percent of the 6,000 books published in 1992, my views are subjectively based on that few titles and what the catalogs offered.

While books from foreign countries have always been an important part of the literature collection, a British publisher's move to open Candlewick Press in New York as a subsidiary is a move to compete with the large conglomerate American publishing houses. Also, Kingfisher from France is a new line that will soon be seen in the stores.For the young reader, animal stories dominated the topics. These include real animals, pets and wild animals, with imaginary "friends" that became a companion to a child. For the older reader "The Thirteen Moons" series by Jean Craighead George, the nonfiction stories of animals in the North American ecosystem, was completed.

The art seen in picture books was considered by many as "more outstanding" than ever before. Also, the illustrated books were intended for readers of all ages as seen in Charles Mikolaycak's adult version of "Orpheus" and the work of Barry Moser.

Three of my favorite picture books this year are Moser's "Beauty and the Beast" (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich), "An Angel for Solomon Singer" written by Cynthia Rylant with paintings by Peter Catalanotto (Orchard) and Claude Clement's "The Man Who Lit the Stars," illustrated by John Howe (Little, Brown).

Native Americans and blacks were the groups most often seen in multicultural books, both picture and fiction. "Rising Voices: Writing of Young Native Americans" edited by Arlene Hirshfelder and Beverly Singer (Scribners) and Nathan Aaseng's "Navajo Code Talkers" (Walker) are examples of the nonfiction. Patricia McKissack's "A Million Fish . . . More or Less" (Knopf) and "Drylongso" by award-winning Virginia Hamilton (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich) have been acclaimed as some of the best picture books of the year.

The themes in fiction have leaned toward "real issues" for the reader with stories about growing up and dealing with problems such as death, divorce, abuses and illness. Sibling rivalry and fractured friendships - universals from all literature - are still prevalent. Provocative titles such as "Someone Else's Baby" by Geraldine Kay (Hyperion) and Randy Powell's "Is Kissing a Girl Who Smokes Like Liking an Ashtray?" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) are examples.

That is not to say the fiction lacked fun and a sense of humor. Lois Lowry's continuance of the Anastasia series with "Attaboy, Sam!" (Houghton Mifflin) is a welcome relief from the social "ills" that sometimes seem to plague the reading. Also, Avi's "Who Was That Masked Man, Any-way?" (Orchard) offered many giggles for readers.

My vote for the "Best of the Year" is for "Missin May" by Cynthia Rylant (Orchard), which combines the honesty of a death and the tragedy that follows but does not exclude the bright side of life.

Nonfiction has moved from being a "nearly forgotten genre" to a leading role. Partly this is because many informational books are being used in classrooms and libraries in place of textbooks (currency and price are the reasons). Also, educational organizations and publishers are recognizing nonfiction books with awards and teacher guides to assist in using them in the classroom. Topics in nonfiction continue to be environmentally focused with "the protection of our world" a main concern.

My favorites here are "The Amazing Potato" by Milton Meltzer (Harper), the 860-page "MacMillan Visual Dictionary," which is a treat for all ages, and "Incredible Cross-Sections" by Richard Platt (Random).

Stories of world leaders, sports figures and musicians are also seen at all levels from beginning readers to full-length documented biographies. Two popular ones were "Colin Powell: A Man of War and Peace" by Carl Senna (Walker) and the revised edition of "Bo Jackson: A Star for All Seasons" by John Devaney (Walker).

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Adult writers have ventured into the young market but with token success. Amy Tan's "The Moon Lady" (MacMillan) and the adaptation of Michener's "South Pacific" illustrated by Michael Hague (Harcourt Brace) won't get too many raves. But the trend is there and the market is open.

Many collections of stories were published this year, but "Home: A Collaboration of Thirty Distinguished Authors and Illustrators of Children's Books to Aid the Homeless" (HarperCollins/

Charlotte Zolotow Imprint) should get recognition for the selfless effort of so many dedicated to a nonprofit organization, Share Our Strength (SOS).

Marilou Sorensen is an associate professor of education at the University of Utah specializing in children's literature.

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