The Joy of Children's Literature

From NPR: If there's one thing kids are scared of, it's the dark. In his latest children's book, The Dark , Daniel Handler — who writes under the pen name Lemony Snicket — takes on darkness itself, with the story of a young boy who confronts his biggest fear. Handler is known for his dry wit and matter-of-fact take on the mysterious and macabre. In his A Series of Unfortunate Events books and , the protagonists confront twisted characters and dastardly villains. "I can't think of a story that doesn't have something terrible in it," he tells NPR's Neal Conan. "Otherwise, it's dull. So when I embarked into the world of picture books, my first thought was to do something about the dark. "I think the book is probably a little bit scary. I also hope it's interesting." Handler talks about his own childhood fears and the process of writing his latest book.

Katherine Applegate's Newbery Award winning book The One and Only Ivan is NPR's June Backseat Book Club selection. Yesterday, NPR conducted an interview with Katherine. Enjoy! PS: Katherine Applegate will be at the National Book Festival this year!

Several years ago, I took my son (who was around 10 at the time) and the students in my children’s literature course to an author appearance by Christopher Paul Curtis . His book, Watson’s Go To Birmingham – 1963 had been chosen for the citywide read program . By all accounts, it was an amazing event! Christopher Paul Curtis read aloud the first chapter (which is hilarious), discussed his inspiration for writing the story, and answered questions.  Afterward, as we stood in line to get his autograph, many of my students commented that they had never met an author before. My son was also enamored. He asked Curtis to sign a poster of the book and to take a picture with him. Later, he hung the poster on his door. As he grew into a teenager, almost everything about his room changed – all except the poster of Curtis on the door. He didn’t want to take it down. It represented an important moment in his life; one that made a lasting impression. Meeting an author is a wonder...