I am currently working on several childrens books. I have tried to get them looked at by publishers to no avail. Looking now for a very good childrens book agent who has had experience in getting the editors to not just look and throw aside but to look and want to see more.

Try agentquery.com, but to get any agent to look at a writer's work and want to see more depends on the skill of the writer.

I've linked to several searches for agents on my Writers' Resources page, but here's a link to what one agent looks for in a submission:

http://www.brendahill.com/todaysfictionmarket.htm

Good luck!

This quote is from the Eve White Literary Agent website:

"We currently receive more than a hundred submissions each month and request the full manuscript from only a handful of authors. We would highly recommend that, as the competition is so tough, you send your manuscript to an editor or literary consultant before submitting it to us."

http://www.evewhite.co.uk/submissions.htm

Visit your local library and borrow "The Writer's and Artist's Yearbook" or "The Guide to Literary Agents". Both books not only list agents, and tell you what genres they represent, but also how to contact them and their submission requirements.

You can try these sites listed below.

www.guidetoliteraryagents.com

It's actually a magazine that you can have highlights emailed directly to you.

The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing from Barnes and Nobel (or any other book store I guess.) And check out http://aar-online.org It is a list of literary agents.

Eve and others just love diverting manuscripts off to other people. What a way to discount authors.

Malcolm

Here's a list of agent search sites and tips, including a list of Chidren's agents.
Well, agents for children's books...you know what I mean...

http://linrobinson.com/linrob.php?catid=26

The only online site I think is worthwhile is:

www.agentquery.com

I recommend using a good hardcopy guide, too. The Jeff Herman Guide has the most agent info. Writers Market is okay, too.

When in doubt, check the "Bewares and Backgrounds Check" message board on Absolute Write.

Try entering the agent's name, then "Absolute Write" into google. Works better than the AW search engine.

-Ann C. Crispin

Most of that is included in my suggestions in the link, Alice.
Except I often cross check on Publishers' and AAR

I don't think hard copy books are worth it: things change too fast for them to keep up and it's pretty much impossible for them to be complete, anyway.

Preditors and Editors agent list:
http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubagent.htm

Ah, that's one we never hear about. Did you spot it in my link? Good boy.