Wild Things! Acts of
Mischief in Children’s Literature by kids' lit bloggers Betsy Bird, Julie
Danielson and Peter Sieruta was released this month. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering
facts from behind the scenes of some of my favorite books. Did you know that
there is an error in one of the illustrations in Madeline? And that before publishing Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends, Harper editor
Ursula Nordstrom first admired his illustration skills in Playboy magazine? The authors candidly delve into serious and complicated
topics like censorship and subversion in children’s literature, and the private
lives of those involved in the making of children’s literature versus the work
itself. Wild Things! dispels negative stereotypes about children’s literature (it’s not all sweet and fluffy) and condescending notions about those who make it. The authors do an outstanding job at getting to the heart of the
importance of literature to encourage children to think creatively and critically,
to question authority and social norms and values and to expose them to
differences. I give this book two thumbs up for advocating for
intelligent, imaginative and diverse literature for children everywhere! Visit
the website that was created for this book to view cut material and more.
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