The Invisible Child: On Reading and Writing Books for Children [Hardcover]

Katherine Paterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 2001 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Here are the remarkable critical speeches and essays of world-renowned author Katherine Paterson. Featuring selected essays originally published in Gates of Excellence and The Spying Heart, this collection also includes the complete acceptance speeches for her two National Book Awards and two Newbery Medals, plus a new introduction and eight speeches never before published in book form.

With the same perception, wit, and generosity that characterize her fiction, this 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. Her words will touch all those who care about literature and the lives of children.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

From Publishers Weekly

In a moving collection of more than 20 speeches and essays, seven of which have never appeared in book form, The Invisible Child: On Reading and Writing Books for Children by two-time Newbery Medalist and National Book Award winner Katherine Paterson provides insight into why and for whom she writes. A volume every bit as inspiring as her other collections of speeches, A Sense of Wonder and Gates of Excellence.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 266 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Children's Books; 1 edition (October 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525464824
• ISBN-13: 978-0525464822
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #495,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Katherine Paterson has twice won both the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award. She received the 1998 Hans Christian Andersen Medal as well as the 2006 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for the body of her work. An active promoter of reading and literacy, she lives with her husband, John, in Barre, Vermont. They have four children and seven grandchildren. Visit Katherine Paterson on her web site at www.terabithia.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Deal, May 27, 2009

By 

Young Adult Librarian "Julie" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Invisible Child: On Reading and Writing Books for Children (Hardcover)

Katherine Paterson is without peer in the field of writing for adolescents. No other contemporary author is more excellent in this genre. This book is full of everything that is good about books -- both the reading of them and the writing of them-- for children. She clearly demonstrates the power of literature to positively impact our society. This is a must have for any teacher or librarian.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharing her thoughts, sharing her heart, January 8, 2008

By 

mah (upstate NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Invisible Child: On Reading and Writing Books for Children (Hardcover)

Katherine Paterson writes for children. She writes, not from a religious place, but from a place of deep-seeded faith, respect, and love for people, especially children - especially children that no one sees. She tells magical real life stories from her own life weaving together the books, events, situations and people who inspired her.Whether you write for children or just love children her words and stories are inspiring. Writing these essays and speeches she graciously allows the reader/the listener just a glimpse of what goes on in her writer' mind and her writer's heart.