Public Libraries of Suffolk County, New York

Barking with the big dogs, on writing and reading books for children, Natalie Babbitt ; introduction by Katherine Applegate

eng

Includes bibliographical references

photographsillustrations

no index present

non fiction

Barking with the big dogs

Natalie Babbitt ; introduction by Katherine Applegate

on writing and reading books for children

In this collection of essays and speeches written over the course of four decades, the beloved author of Tuck Everlasting explores what it was like to be a 'little dog' in the literary world, continually being asked to explain her choice to create books for young readers instead of doing something more serious for adults. Assembled by the author before her death, these pieces range far and wide in subject matter, from issues of responsibility when writing for children to the question of whether writers know what they are really saying -- and whether that matters. Babbitt offers incisive commentary on classic children's books as well as contemporary works, and reveals colorful insights into her published books and her own personal creative life. Some of the pieces gathered here were written to be spoken, and some were written to be read, yet in all of them Natalie Babbitt's distinctive voice comes through. It is the same voice we hear in her fiction: straightforward, a little droll, playful about serious things and serious about playful things. On every page, Barking with the Big Dogs exemplifies true reverence for children and an endless engagement with the challenge to write the books that shape them

adult

Writing and reading books for children