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A Sense of Wonder: On Reading and Writing Books for Children
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Anyone familiar with children's literature knows the gifted pen of award-winning Katherine Paterson. Sales of her books are in the millions, and the list of coveted awards they have garnered - including two Newbery Medals, two National Book Awards, and the Regina Medal - is remarkable. A Sense of Wonder is a collection of more than three dozen critical essays on reading an
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Paperback, 336 pages
Published
December 1st 1995
by Plume
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Showing 1-30
I've been savoring this book. Usually I read books pretty quickly, but this one wanted the slow-cooker. Paterson offers so many wonderful insights in this book. . . . If you are interested in children's literature or writing for children . . . or just like to read, give this book a look.
Okay, I'm mostly finished. This book is so wonderful, so worth the read. There is repetition of ideas and concepts, but this makes it a thorough teacher. Paterson writes from her heart and her spirit. I had to a ...more
Okay, I'm mostly finished. This book is so wonderful, so worth the read. There is repetition of ideas and concepts, but this makes it a thorough teacher. Paterson writes from her heart and her spirit. I had to a ...more
More beautiful, truthful and insightful essays and speeches about reading and writing for children. I just can’t even. Katherine Paterson is amazing in writing for our kids and always writing a story with such hope. Once again flagged so many quotes. Also added bonus of hilirious and well written book review she did for the Post...added a ton of new books to read plus mourned over the fact that no writes a book review like Katherine Paterson anymore. A good collection to any lover of books.
“It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations—something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own.”
The book is comprised of many excellent five star worthy chapters, and some lesser quality - mainly those that are book reviews that seem to be included as filler material, books that unfortunately haven't stood the test of time and are now, 30 years later, out of print. Katherine's reasons for writing, her thoughts on her own books, and the importance of story and imagination for all ages were some of my favorite themes of the book. I wish I had known her books as a teenager, but I likely would
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I sought out this book after I had the pleasure of seeing Katherine Paterson speak in person. She is incredibly eloquent and has really lovely ideas. This collection is a little bit repetitive and so I found it a bit slow at times, but overall it's very good. Super heart-warming, it will speak to anyone who honestly believes in the power of story [not just for children, but generally].
Jul 30, 2007
Sara
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
all writers, fans of her fiction
Shelves:
writingandwriters
Her National Book Award and Newbery Medal speeches, plus dozens of other beautifully crafted essays that will make you run to the page to write.
I can't do justice to this right now. Hopefully I'll get back to it soon.
A beautiful book. Coffee over cake with an old friend. Genuine advice from someone you trust.
A delicious collection of essays, speeches, and book reviews by acclaimed author Katherine Paterson. Highly recommended for educators, parents, and children’s authors.
A must have and a must read. Validated my role as mother and educator. I copied so many quotes from this book!
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From author's website:
People are always asking me questions I don't have answers for. One is, "When did you first know that you wanted to become a writer?" The fact is that I never wanted to be a writer, at least not when I was a child, or even a young woman. Today I want very much to be a writer. But when I was ten, I wanted to be either a movie star or a missionary. When I was twenty, I wanted t ...more
People are always asking me questions I don't have answers for. One is, "When did you first know that you wanted to become a writer?" The fact is that I never wanted to be a writer, at least not when I was a child, or even a young woman. Today I want very much to be a writer. But when I was ten, I wanted to be either a movie star or a missionary. When I was twenty, I wanted t ...more
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“The basic task of education is the care and feeding of the imagination.”
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“Civilization as well as education takes a downward spiral when it ceases to ask "What is truth?" and concerns itself primarily with what is measurable.”
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1 likes
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