Make Believe - by Mac Barnett (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"Conversational essays on wonder . . . A meditation on what gives life meaning. . . . A loving sermon on the rewards of children's books." ―Kirkus Reviews

Make Believe is bestselling children's author Mac Barnett's rallying cry for art and imagination, and a celebration of the power of storytelling in all our lives. It's anincisive, intimate, and timely invitation to approach children's literature not only as an art form worthy of deep study and criticism, but as a portal into the lives of the children. And at a time when we are faced with a national literacy crisis, he champions the profound joys of literature and the importance of reading for pleasure.

What if children are a great audience for art?
What if they are in fact better equipped to engage deeply with stories than adults?
What if humans' ability to appreciate art is, if not innate, awakened early in childhood?

Well, then we'd better do our best to make some good kids' books.

Written with humor and academic rigor, Make Believe reads like a letter from your smartest and funniest friend.

Review Quotes

"Slim yet soaring . . . Barnett's heavily footnoted accessible academic style and passionate viewpoint will speak to anyone who read as a child or has read to a child."--Booklist

"'Kids' books merit grown-up conversation, ' children's author Barnett asserts in his by turns grave and playful treatise....It's a poignant refresher for 'dead dull finished grown-ups' on childhood's role as an 'in-between place full of uncertainty.'"--Publishers Weekly

"Barnett offers not a sociology of reading or a history of writing. Instead, he gives us conversational essays on wonder. This is not a work of scholarship; it's a meditation on what gives life meaning. The author's voice comes alive, as if he's talking to you over coffee. . . . What we realize as Barnett rises to his theme is that his goal is not so much to describe but to convince. For, in this church of storytelling, we are sinners who believe our job is to mold the child like clay. Instead, let's grace the child with joy and, in the process, find the playful child in us. A loving sermon on the rewards of children's books." --Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Mac Barnett is the ninth U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, appointed by the Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader. He's a New York Times-bestselling author of stories for children and the writer, with Jon Klassen, of Looking at Picture Books, a newsletter for adults about how picture books work. Barnett's work has been translated into more than 30 languages and sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. His books have won many prizes, including two Caldecott Honors, three New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Awards, three E.B. White Read Aloud Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Germany's Jugendliteraturpreis, China's Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award, The Netherlands' Silver Griffel, and Italy's Premio Orbil. He lives in Oakland, California.