Writes Of Passage 100 Things Read Before

by Mary Kate McDevitt

An inspiring, accessible and powerful collection of words that matter. Published in a gorgeous hardback edition, with a stunning neon and foil-stamped cover, ribbon marker, and beautifully designed insides, Writes of Passage is the perfect gift for every occasion - birthdays, Christmas, school leaving celebrations, confirmations, bar and bat mitzvahs, and more. An inspiring collection of over 100 pieces of writing - poems, prose, letters, speeches, song lyrics, quotations, and more - from Shakespeare to Stephen Hawking; Greta Thunberg to Galileo; Malala to Martin Luther King; and Lin-Manuel Miranda to Lord Tennyson - which are in turn powerful, funny, moving, wise, and thought-provoking, and expertly selected and with accessible, thoughtful commentary by Nicolette Jones, children's book critic for The Sunday Times.

Genres: Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published May 5, 2022

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this on my library catalogue online, it sounded really good, a selection of quotes, extracts and poems from inspirational books. I was really disappointed in what was chosen. There are so many amazing quotes from the moomins but they chose one from the last book that just wasn't very good. There are so many great books but the extracts they did choose just weren't the best, several books had more than one extract or quote. None were very good.

The paper is the ultra cheap kind that is yellow and furry and you can see the other side through.

Careful choosing, reasonable paper and the odd illustration could have made this a really good book

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this collection because, if I'm honest, I expected something that might have read a little bit worthy. There's always the risk of that with books like this because it can be a tiny little bit annoying to be told what you should read? And then there's the risk of getting a book where the extracts are all from books by old white dudes or were all popular a hundred million years ago or all express Appropriate Sentiments For The Youth To Learn From...

Basically books like this are a minefield and yet I think that if you curate something well and recognise precisely where you are and what you're playing with, you can produce something very nice indeed. That's what Writes Of Passage is, that's what Nicolette Jones does.

As ever with a Nosy Crow production, Writes Of Passage looks stunning and is beautifully put together. It's split into several chapters on themes such as "becoming you and your future" and "childhood and your past" and gives you extracts involving books, speeches, poetry and songs from writers as wide-ranging like Charlotte Brontë, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Greta Thunberg. Every piece in the book comes with a thoughtful note from Jones where she discusses its resonance and why it was included in the book.

I think if you're after an inspirational book that will grow with your young readers and offer them a lot of potential in taking ideas forward and carving out their own path, then this is an excellent choice. I also think there might be something very lovely in using this in a classroom / educational context for longer investigations and prompts for bigger pieces - it's a "dipper" of a book, full of things to pull out and savour and dig deeply into. Like I said, it's a nice piece of work, well done.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

[Barbara Band · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been dipping in and out of this book for a while and, although it is aimed at young teens, many adults will find passages that speak to them. It contains extracts, quotations and lyrics with an explanation of where they come from, all organised into eight useful subjects including: childhood and your past; on happiness and sadness; on nature and the world; on kindness and courage; on family, love and home; on equality and justice; on reading; and on becoming you and your future. So ... heavy themes despite the intended audience, words that span time and touch on a myriad of emotions.

This would make a great gift for a young reader. Or to have on the school library shelves - although I think it would probably be out on permanent loan to teachers looking for inspirational words for their class or assembly.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully produced I bought this for our prep library and will purchase more as end of year/prep prizes. A very well-considered selection of extracts, poems, quotes and texts that aren’t trite, preachy, high-brow or irritating.. the added notes by the author/editor give the selections context and don’t detract from the quotes themselves. The contents are divided into sections that are lovely choices for the target audience - and one can only hope it’s a book 12+ year olds would dip into for many years to come.

[Milly Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really great excerpts from a variety of texts.
Not really something I feel the kids at school would actually borrow, but super for an adult to feel some nostalgia and to remind of things to read with children

[Gulalai Afridi · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're 13 or older sorry but you missed out

[Tasnia Khanom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of quotes on childhood, kindness, family and equality.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed and found some of the quotes meaningful and thought-provoking. I’ll be keeping it as a reference.