
Barking with the Big Dogs
On Writing and Reading Books for Children
Natalie Babbitt
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Introduction
BY KATHERINE APPLEGATE
Every now and then, if the fates are kindly disposed, you will come across a book and know, as certainly as you know your own soul, that it was written just for you.
I have a few...
Praise for Barking with the Big Dogs
“Writing with passion and insight, the author's voice remains direct, incisive, witty, and true as she draws widely from the canon of children's and adult literature. . .[S]he astutely holds fast to the importance of giving children honest, hopeful, and entertaining stories in a changing world. A must for children's literature professionals and aficionados.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Yes, the titular big dogs are the authors and critics who populate the world of adult books. But, as Babbitt—the author of Tuck Everlasting and other staples of children's literature—demonstrates in this splendid collection of 18 essays and speeches, she could bark with the best of them. . . .It is children, as well as literature, who capture and hold her attention. She is a stalwart defender of both. As for her work, it speaks, or barks, for itself.” —Booklist