Children’s books are read by many people, they are much loved and increasingly present in bookstores. However, they almost never receive serious attention, at least not from adults. But adults exercise a very strong power over what children read: books intended for them are written, published and bought by adults, and often it is the adults themselves who read them aloud.
So children’s books deserve an intellectually honest conversation. This is an essay for everyone, not just fans, about the potential of children’s literature, the role of the writer, and the boundless genius of children, in the belief that they deserve great stories and true art. An original work written by Mac Barnett for Terre di mezzo Editore. “If you’re an author of children’s books, you’ll often be asked if you’re going to write a real book. What they mean is: Will you ever write a book for adults? I’m so well versed in answering these questions that sometimes I manage not to sound even remotely annoyed when I repeat: children’s books are real books; children are ideal readers, especially when it comes to literature. If you don’t think children’s books are real books, you somehow don’t think children are real human beings.
Here we come to the main reason we think so poorly of children’s books: our own low regard for children. What if we’ve got it all wrong? What if they are actually better equipped than adults to engage deeply with stories? Anyway, this is a book for adults. More precisely, it’s a book for adults about children’s books.”
The secret door
Why Children’s Books Are a Serious Thing
Mac Barnett
Middle Earth Publisher
ISBN: 9791259962119
page 102 – €16.00