The current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Mac Barnett’s new book — touted as a “grown-up conversation” on children’s literature — was released last Tuesday, and within a day, his peers were calling for his apology.
The new book "Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children,“ is, in fact, the author’s first venture for adults, a three-essay argument for the value and enormous responsibility of storytelling for younger generations. While the book’s effort was largely warmly received — The New York Times likened his breezy, authoritative but accessible approach to “the chatty tone of a slightly obsessive, over-caffeinated friend sitting in your passenger seat with 90 minutes until the next exit.” But Barnett’s industry peers were quick to zero in on a specific section in which he claims: “Maybe more like 94.7 percent of kids’ books are crud.”
