The Invisible Child: On Reading and Writing Books for Children

by Katherine Paterson

A new, peerless collection of speeches and essays by celebrated 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 Newberry 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 her care about the literature and the lives of children.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Education, Books About Books, Childrens, Essays

266 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 2001

About the author

Katherine Womeldorf Paterson is an American writer best known for children's novels, including Bridge to Terabithia. For four different books published 1975–1980, she won two Newbery Medals and two National Book Awards. She is one of four people to win the two major international awards; for "lasting contribution to children's literature" she won the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing in 1998 and for her career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense" she won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award from the Swedish Arts Council in 2006, the biggest monetary prize in children's literature. Also for her body of work she was awarded the NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature in 2007 and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the American Library Association in 2013. She was the second US National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, serving 2010 and 2011.

Reviews

[A.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was only able to read a handful of essays from this book before I had to return it to our library. Everything I read was fantastic. It's a master writer talking about the craft. I especially enjoyed reading her acceptance speeches for various awards. They were formal, yet entertaining; insightful and heartfelt.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a wonderful book to read especially while reading her other books like Bridge to Teribithia and The Great Gilly Hopkins. I am addicted to Katherine Paterson books right now! They are fantastic...krb 1/31/18

[Hannah Grinestaff · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enthusiastic 5 stars. The book is a collection of her speeches at various events over the course of 20 years, lending itself to some repetitiveness. It is a great reading for anyone who is in the position of giving books to children, and at least a few of the essays should be required for children’s librarians and educators. A great encouragement to provide children with quality literature that feeds their imaginations and souls, and not just the milksop that is so prevalent today in the name of “education.”

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Invisible Child (subtitled "On Reading and Writing Books For Children") is a collection of speeches and essays written by Katherine Patterson over the course of her career. I have mixed feelings about some of her books, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one; I was particularly impressed with how integral her faith is to her writing. All her books are ultimately about characters who are homesick for Eden.

A choice quote:

On good writing: "I suppose it would be possible to write a book whose plot jumped all around like a frog on pep pills, but that's not what books are about. If that's the kind of writing you want to do, I think you should be in a more hectic medium. Books are meant to be read slowly and digested. These days people don't pray much or go to services of worship, they don't commune with nature - why, they hardly go to a national park without a TV set, a laptop, and a cell phone. The book is almost the last refuge of reflection - the final outpost of wisdom. I want children to have the gifts that books can give, and I don't believe they can get them from a book that attempts to imitate the frantic fragmentation of contemporary life." (p. 55)

[Chantel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't even describe how much I loved this book. It's one of those I'll keep on my bookshelf forever. Please don't ask to borrow it. I won't share! I didn't ever want to come to the end of this lovely volume. Katherine Paterson's thoughts on reading and writing for children took me back to all the books I've loved, especially the ones that have stayed with me my whole life. Books are the friends that never leave us. One of my favorite sentiments was that children don't go to books looking for role models; instead, they are searching for truth. "Books," she says, "are practice for life...The time a child needs a book about life's dark passages is before he or she has had to experience them. We need practice with loss, rehearsal for grieving, just as we need preparation for decision making." This book is valuable for anyone who teaches children, writes for children, ministers to children or simply reads to children at bedtime.

[Tuesdayschild · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purposely wanted to sip read this, so I could pause and ponder over the thoughts Katherine had originally crafted as acceptance speeches and were then gathered together as a collection to form this book. I don’t think I would have enjoyed the speeches in a few solid reading sessions, one speech crammed in on top of the last four speeches would be a little bit like eating too many chocolate eclairs in one go. I’ve unscored portions and jotted my own thoughts down throughout the book; I’ll definitely be rereading "The Invisible Child". I’ve gained a greater understanding to the background of what birthed the thoughts behind Katherine's books which gives me a grudging respect for some of the titles that I have definitely had mixed feelings about …. maybe time for me to take a re-read of a few of those from a different vantage point.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katherine Paterson has a beautiful way with words. This collection of essays/ speeches really was a fabulous read. I wish it was still in print so that I could buy my own copy and mark up all the nuggets of wisdom in these pages. She talks about reading and writing for children in a way that is so real that it encourages the reader to stay true to the younger generation, not to fill them with mindless fluff but to discuss and expose those hurtful or hidden things in our lives and world (at appropriate ages) and not let them rule you or sweep you up in their pain but to expose them to light and let the children of the world know, they aren't alone. They are all, each individual child, so very precious.

[Molly Grimmius · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book that I wished I owned and did not just borrow from the library(alas it is out of print!). I must have wrote down two pages worth of quotes. Katherine Paterson (author of The Great Gilly Hopkins and Bridge to Terbitha) is also an amazing essay writer and speech giver on the craft that is writing for children. She talks with such depth and beauty and the gift she has and makes you think over and over again. If you want to be a writer or you teach children, you really should read this book. It is beautiful. Here is just one of the many quotes I wrote down: "Reading a great novel is a conversion experience, we are never quite the same afterwards."

[Marisa Maloney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing hidden treasure writing by Katherine Paterson. Within this collection of essays and speeches you find out more about her life as a child growing up in China, her missionary parents, her faith, family and of course, her books. I read this book at he same time as my sister and we discussed the chapters on the phone. You should definitely have a book buddy to reach this book with. Want to one this one for sure.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wise, funny, and moving. Katherine Paterson's work has meant so much to me for so many years - her book Bridge to Terabithia is one of my favorite books from my childhood (I tear up even thinking about it), but I've never read any of her speeches or essays and only recently heard her give an interview for the first time. While this collection has some repeated stories (understandable, since the speeches were given over 30+ years), they were all so wonderful and it's easy to pick up and put down, as most speeches are no more than a few pages. I had no idea how much I had in common with her (she spent many of her formative years living and working in Asia) and I resonated with much she had to say about parenting, teaching, and just living as a decent human.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her thoughts are so timely and lovely and thought-provoking. I didn't like the order if the essays in this book as much as I appreciated the mix of sorry and long in The Spying Heart. Many of these are repeats from that book, as well, but since it is out of print and they're the best ones, it's a good thing.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twenty years of reading her book about children and writing has left me bereft. We are no closer to preserving the innocence of children. Restoring the brokenness of this world is further still and the sun is setting fast. Yet I will keep this book close by as encouragement to my soul.

Isaiah 42. Amen.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. "Words" was my favorite essay here. Fascinating, as always, to hear a writer's journey from an idea to a scene to a full characterization. She is especially wise a out the role hard things play in a child's psyche and, therefore, children's art.

[Hannah Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful & inspiring, love the way she writes about children and books.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of these essays are speeches she has given. I'm sure I would have enjoyed any of them as speeches, but as a collection, I prefer her memoir or any of her stories!

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a challenge to select just one Katherine Paterson book to read. A challenge I am happy to say I failed! One of the books listed had the intriguing title of The Invisible Child. This book is a compilation of speeches given by Paterson between 1974 and 2000.

I don’t know where to begin writing about this book. I found it to be a book full of treasures. Maybe my great enjoyment was because I agreed with so much of what Paterson said/wrote. Her words made me think. Paterson is widely read and has a wonderful way of making connections between what she has read and people.

I don’t feel like my post about this book is doing it justice. It is a book geared more toward adults. I think it would be a great book for a group of teachers to read and discuss, if not the entire book, then at least some of the speeches from the book. Once I return the copy I have to the library, I plan to purchase one of my own. I can’t wait to read it again, highlight and make notes in the places where the book speaks to me.

One other highlight of the book is that you get a glimpse of what Paterson was thinking when she wrote many of her books. I truly enjoyed this “behind the scenes glimpse” into a wonderful author’s world.

[April Bumgardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love Katherine Patterson! These are the first of her essays that I have ever read. I am mostly familiar with her through The Bridge to Terabithia, but now, after this collection of speeches, she is a dear friend and admirable role model.

She is deeply entrenched in biblical reality, metaphor, and ideology and I love her for it. She respects children not only as people, but as people made in the image of God, full of value. There is so much hope, love, goodness, beauty and truth in these pages.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book of essays and lectures by Paterson about writing for children. Many of the essays are speeches she gave while accepting all the prestiges awards she has won. Her lectures are folksy but wise, giving us a true and honest framework in which to understand children's literature. Her major themes and passions are telling children the truth about the world and giving them hope even as they learn it's a hard place to live. Lots of interesting tidbits about the books she's written.

[Yamile Méndez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down. when I started it, I thought it was a book about writing. I was half wrong. It's a book about thinking. About peering into the unreadable parts of a book and noticing what remains with us when the words are forgotten.

This book is a collection of talks and essays by Katherine Paterson. I love finding out the story behind her stories, even if the seed from which they were born were sad. I marked every page; I loved every word.

[Erin N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was really interesting. But I was expecting it to give me some good writing tips, which it didn't. It's a collection of speeches by Katherine Paterson about the concept behind writing for children, which was inspiring to me, as that's what I want to do. She is an amazing author and a brilliant woman.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Katherine Paterson. This book is a collection of essays and speeches about writing for children. I hate reading books about writing, but Katherine Paterson has such a beautiful style and worthy ideas about writing for children, it encourages me to try harder to write quality stories.

[Hannah]

This was really beautiful. I never read Paterson as a child because she seemed dull, but if her books are as good as her speeches about them (and about literature, childhood, moving, adults, culture, and more), I'm jumping on that train now.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who wants to write for kids... hell, for anyone who wants to WRITE, this is a truly awesome book. Because it is a collection of speeches, there are some repeated anecdotes but they are all great.

[Karre · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The very persons who took away my time and space," she says, "are the ones who have given me something to say."

[LeAnne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very inspirational.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how thought-provoking the essays are about reading and writing books for children. This is a book of substance that causes a writer to rethink characters and revise for more depth.

[Debbie Rhines · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love this author and interesting to read about her perspective and makes you realize how important book can be for children.

[Sherry · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.semicolonblog.com/?p=511

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely collection of essays and speeches from a master storyteller.

[Krsna · Rating 5 out of 5]

It inspired me a lot.