With the same perception, wit, and generosity that characterize her fiction, a much-honored writer shares her ideas about writing for children, as well as her passion for reading, her spiritual faith, and her conviction that the imagination must be nourished. Katherine Paterson often has been accused of creating unlikable characters. Parent groups have protested her novels' supposed anti-Christian bias, their profanity, and their references to magic. And, yet, Paterson has won both the National Book Award and the Newbery Medal--twice each. More importantly, her books, with their outcast protagonists, have reached even the most unreachable children, the "invisible" children. The Invisible Child collects 25 years of Paterson's speeches and essays about writing, reading, and life. These pieces are wise, reflective, and lovely. They disparage the preponderance of "empty-caloried" books for kids; more so, they celebrate the many enduring books that change children's lives. Paterson writes about the need for wonder in children's books: "the wonder of nature and human nature ... the wonder in the telling ... the wonder behind and beyond the story." She writes not about "creating a character," but about "getting to know a person." And where other writers blame the demands of children, spouses, and other commitments for their inability to produce, Paterson celebrates external limitations. "The very persons who took away my time and space," she says, "are the ones who have given me something to say." --Jane Steinberg Through this collection of speeches and essays, many never before published, Paterson reminds us of the wonder we must constantly maintain when working with young people. She describes her path as a writer, her continual discovery of people and events, and includes her thoughtful reflection, which makes her writing remarkable. The speeches include both those given for the Newbery Award and the National Book Award, and workshop talks she has provided for those interested in writing. The title piece was the 2001 Charlotte Zolotow Lecture. One can open this book to any chapter and learn about other authors, about writing, about our mission as librarians, and be grateful that Paterson shares her talent with all of us. Reading these selections reaffirms why we try so diligently to bring good books and young people together. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Anyone who has heard Katherine Paterson speak about children's books will recognize her individual voice in this collection of 25 essays and speeches. In a plain, deceptively casual style, she speaks with humanity and wit as reader, writer, and critic about the big issues in stories for young people. There's no pretension, no pedagogical jargon, just a smart, enthusiastic response to the best children's books, old and new (she's as crazy for Harry Potter as she is for Stuart Little), and a stimulating discussion about what stories mean to kids. Role models are not the purpose of fiction ("I am not setting out to teach virtue, I am trying to tell a story . . . to draw my reader into the mystery of human life in this world"). Paterson has won every major children's literature award, including the Newbery, the National Book Award, and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, and many of her acceptance speeches are included here, as well as her prestigious public lectures. In the moving title piece, her 1999 Charlotte Zolotow Lecture, she says that fiction allows the reader to know the character's invisible self: "it's like a secret one Nobody whispers to another Nobody." Teachers, librarians, parents, and older students will want this. Read it with the chapter on Bridge to Terabithia (1977) in Pat Scales' Teaching Banned Books, reviewed below. Hazel Rochman Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Katherine Paterson�is the renowned author of many� classic children�s books, including Bridge to Terabithia ; The Great Gilly Hopkins ; Lyddie ; Jacob Have I Loved ; Come Sing, Jimmy Jo ; and The Master Puppeteer , among many others. Her work has won two Newbery Medals and a Newbery Honor, two National Book Awards, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. She also served a term as the National Ambassador for Children�s Literature. Katherine lives in Vermont.� Used Book in Good Condition