How to Cite an Illustrated Book in MLA

• Tomas Elliott (Ph.D.)
• Published on 09/24/2024
• Updated on04/14/2025

Accurate citation is crucial in academic writing because it gives credit to original authors and makes work more credible. Proper citations allow readers to verify information and find other sources. The Modern Language Association (MLA) format provides easy-to-follow guidelines for citing different sources.

This article is a straightforward step-by-step tutorial on how to cite illustrated books in MLA. An illustrated book contains both text and illustrations, and therefore it is only right to give credit to the author and the illustrator.

DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF EACH ELEMENT

The overall format for citing a book contains several elements, each playing a distinct role in the citation. The elements include:

• Author’s Name: The first element of the citation is the author’s name, which can be an individual (last name followed by the first name), an organization (full name, no abbreviations), or more than one author (first author inverted followed by “and” for the second, or “et al.” for three and more).
• Title of the Book: The title of the book follows and is to be italicized. Italicizing the title helps it to be distinguished from the rest of the citation. The title should be followed by a period.
• Illustrator’s Name: In case the book is illustrated and the illustrator is acknowledged, his or her name must be included in the citation. This is preceded by the phrase “Illustrated by,” which acknowledges the illustrator’s effort in the work.
• Publisher: The name of the publisher follows the name of the illustrator (if any). The publisher needs to be mentioned in order to provide information regarding the distribution of the book. The publisher’s name is followed by a comma.
• Year of Publication: The final element in the citation is the year of publication. It informs us as to when the book was published and is relevant for citing the specific edition one is referring to. The year is followed by a period.

CITATION EXAMPLES FOR ILLUSTRATED BOOKS IN MLA

This sample has Eric Carle’s full name in the Author tag, with only “Carle” in the Contributor tag as illustrator. This is the form when the author and illustrator are the same person.

Several Illustrators: If a book has more than one illustrator, list all of their names following “Illustrated by,” separating them with commas. Like: “Illustrated by Illustrator One, Illustrator Two. Include Edition Information: If the book is a specific edition (i.e., 2nd ed., rev. ed.), include this information after the title and before the illustrator’s name. For instance: Title of Book, 2nd ed., Illustrated by Illustrator’s Name. Use Standard Abbreviations for Publishers: Familiarize yourself with standard publisher abbreviations, i.e., “U of” for University of, and “Pr” for Press. This can help shorten your citations without sacrificing professionalism. Use Correct Italic and Punctuation: Italicize the book title consistently and utilize proper punctuation, i.e., commas and full stops, according to MLA standards to make your citation clear and precise. Format Consistently: Format the entire reference list consistently, with hanging indents and the same font style and size throughout, according to MLA standards for overall presentation.