Barking with the Big Dogs: On Writing and Reading Books for Children

by Natalie Babbitt

In this collection of essays and speeches written over the course of four decades, beloved storyteller Natalie Babbitt explores what it was like to be a “little dog” in the literary world, continually being forced to justify her choice to write books for children―instead of doing something more serious . Babbitt offers incisive commentary on classic children’s books as well as contemporary works, and reveals colorful insights into her own personal creative life. Filled with a voice that rings with truth, wisdom, and humor across the years, the essays gathered in Barking with the Big Dogs exemplify on every page true reverence for children and an endless engagement with the challenge to write the books that shape them.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Writing, Adult, Ebooks

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

Natalie Zane Babbitt was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Her 1975 novel, Tuck Everlasting, was adapted into two feature films and a Broadway musical. She received the Newbery Honor and Christopher Award, and was the U.S. nominee for the biennial international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1982.

Reviews

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

In chronological order beginning with the year 1970, Barking with the Big Dogs presents the late children's author Natalie Babbitt's essays and speeches about reading and writing for children.

My feelings about this book were all over the place as I followed the essays through time. During the first half of the book, well into the writings from the 1980s, I found myself wondering why this book was being published today, and for whom. At that point in my reading, it felt as though Babbitt had one main argument, that writing for children ought to be taken seriously, and it seemed to me that, in the 2010s, we had moved beyond the simple question of whether children's writers "count" and on to more interesting ones. I wondered what a contemporary audience had to gain from reading different versions of this same argument over and over again. I also found myself cringing over some of Babbitt's other pronouncements of the 70s and 80s: her assertion that public education was making great progress (toward what? I wondered), her idea that reading needs to always be "easy and pleasant" in order to make people want to do it, and all her weird comments about books for teens.

But right around the time I started feeling fed up with Babbitt, her essays started expressing unpopular opinions that I actually agreed with! In one essay, she said that we can't reasonably expect everyone to love to read. I think this idea has always been nagging at the corners of my mind whenever people speak with disdain about those they encounter who do not read for fun. There are a lot of things I don't do for fun, and I don't think that is necessarily a character flaw. Not loving to read sounds horrible to me, because I do love it, but it is not objectively horrible. I appreciate that Babbitt had the good sense to recognize that fact, and the guilty burden it puts upon educators when the bar is set so impossibly high.

In her essay from 1989, "The Purpose of Literature - and Who Cares?" I also enjoyed her glib response to an audience member during a Q & A session who asked Babbitt why she didn't address more of society's problems in her novels. The fact that Babbitt dismissed the questioner with the statement that helping children deal with problems is not the purpose of literature made me cheer. Here we are, thirty years in the future, and every author wants to make sure that the problem he or she experienced during childhood makes it into a book so that kids who are experiencing it now can see themselves in fiction and feel comforted and understood. But Babbitt makes the point that it is really difficult for an author to write a book that both addresses societal issues and is still a pleasure to read. I have found this to be true of many contemporary books. They get across the problem, but the stories feel like they are trying to instruct, and not entertain.

On a related note, in her 1990 piece, "Protecting Children's Literature," Babbitt also criticizes the idea that children's books be used to teach social responsibility, and explains that she doesn't "believe in using fiction to teach anything except the appreciation of fiction." She points out a tendency that bothers me greatly in our own current culture: the idea that we need "to catch the children early and get them to think about things in the right way." She concedes, as I do, that children need to be taught how to treat others and get along with them, but she does not believe, as I also don't, that books need to be written in such a way as to preach morals at children. She seems to suggest that it's better to present kids with questions, rather than lessons, about morality, and allow them to begin thinking through their own answers.

In the end, I found that I really enjoyed this collection as a whole. I did feel that I wanted more context, as all we really have is an introduction by Katherine Applegate and a short Preface by Babbitt, and it did sometimes feel like Babbitt was shouting into a void and I didn't know to whom she was really addressing her remarks. I also think it would be foolish to filter all of these essays through the lens of a contemporary critic. This collection is really a history lesson about the changes in children's literature over the last nearly fifty years, not a single cohesive unit arguing toward one point of view. I did not enjoy Tuck Everlasting as a kid, and found the ending of The Search for Delicious disappointing, but this is one Natalie Babbitt book I would recommend to all those who think seriously and critically about the books written for children, then and now. Whether you agree or disagree with Babbitt, there is much here to think about and discuss.

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my top ten favorite authors, Natalie Babbitt expressed herself brilliantly through fiction, and with equal brilliance in this collection of essays on children's literary experiences and the essential and critical practice of ensuring kids have only the best in their formative reading years. Unfortunately, the essays, written in the early 70s and later, feel dated--which I suppose is a good thing, as we have come so far in the fields of children's literature, librarianship, and teaching that much of what she calls for in terms of valuing children and respecting their right to good literature, has indeed come to pass, at least from my perspective. I loved her piece, "Saying What You Think," written in 1981, which starts, "Someone said once that the older we get, the more aware we are that we don't know much, and that's all right--I don't have any quarrel with that. But the trouble is, it's also true that the older we get, the more we're expected to sound as if we know a great deal." She goes on to talk about opinions and the phases of life during which we have them, but can't defend them or are too intimidated to either express or defend them. The beauty of aging is that one has the confidence to hold opinions and not care what others think. This is literary gold. Children's literature professionals will enjoy this book.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well. I was not a Natalie Babbitt fan as a child. When I read "Tuck Everlasting" as an adult, I admired it greatly but didn't love it. But I really, really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of Diana Wynne Jones's essays. Like her, Natalie Babbitt is clear-eyed and truly passionate about children and children's literature. Like her, Babbitt is often very funny. Like her, she is also deeply serious, and has something to say.

I loved her stories about being a child and marveling at the sheer irrationality of adults. I loved her thoughts on Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz and how they relate to the hero's journey. I loved her passionate defense of children and of children's literature.

Anyone who cares about writing for children should read at least some part of this book, IMHO. Recommended warmly.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't help but stare at her photograph on the front of the cover and mourn the fact that I never knew her in real life. I am stuck in this awkward of place feeling like I am some kind of weird groupy for this writer. The only relief I get from that awkward grief is a little insider's nugget of intel that explains why the word rhinoceros is in Clarice Bean Spells Trouble. I had figured out that the Clarice Bean books contain several nods to the great writers, but I didn't realize that there are more that I knew about.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Older fans of Natalie Babbitt, not to mention literary critics and teachers, will find the nineteen essays contained in this book well worth reading. Beginning with one written in 1970 and concluding with a speech given in 2004, the collection is interesting, partly because of the insight it provides into this particular writer and a bit about her writing process, but also, because it is intriguing to see how her thinking evolves over the years. Some of the pieces are rather dated as she wonders about the impact of television, computers and email on the future and justifies the very existence of children's literature, often regarded dismissively by the big dogs in the field--those who write for adults. She spends time tweaking those would-be critics and reviewers of books for children, firmly stating that it is the audience itself that should make the final call about a book's value. While she often refers to children's classics such as Alice in Wonderland--her personal favorite--and her own books, she does so in a relatable, almost humble manner, as though she still remains astonished that her work was ever published. One of my favorite parts about the book was how she shared bits of letters and comments from her young readers since her personality seems to come through there. It's when she mentions her own fears about traveling alone or remembers classmates and teachers by name that readers really start to think they might know her, and I wish there'd been more of that. I also appreciated how she credited teachers and librarians for finding an audience for her books even while suggesting that writers and illustrators are mere mortals and not not be deified for the work they do. Those that long for the good old days and wish to protect children from life's harsher experiences will not find support in Babbitt's words as she seems to pooh pooh many adults' notions of childhood as being idealistic and misguided. Having black and white photographs to introduce each section brought her further to life for me, but I would have liked for each entry to be introduced with text that provided some context. This collection is best sipped, one essay at a time, or perhaps after rereading one of her contributions to children's literature.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This interesting collection of essays written by author Natalie Babbitt, best known for Tuck Everlasting, reflects her views on books, literature, and writing. One gains insight into the author and her work by understanding what her likes and dislikes are. She always writes for a fifth grader, yet her books are enjoyed by younger and older children as well as adults. She really doesn't enjoy classic literature that much, but she's married to a husband who does. She wasn't that great of a student, yet her books are read by schoolchildren all over. Readers will appreciate these essays. I received an electronic galley from the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[TIM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natalie Babbitt was an absolutely brilliant writer of fiction for children. These essays take the wonderful Ms. Babbitt out of her traditional book and more or less reflect on her writing. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because then there would be no higher place for "Tuck Everlasting."

[Suzanne Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why but I expected this to be more memoir than pieces about children's writing but it was enjoyable none-the-less. I've been reading Babbitt's oeuvre because she's one of my favourite authors. This set of essays and articles about writing children's books is interesting and thought provoking.

[Alyisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this collection with a deep love for one of Babbitt’s essays, “Happy Endings? Of Course, and Also Joy.” I came out of this collection with a deep love for one of Babbitt’s essays, “Happy Endings? Of Course, and Also Joy.” 😅🙈

In it, she defines Children’s Fiction as essentially different from Adult Fiction because it always ends with hope. This doesn’t mean that all situations resolve themselves happily or even that all situations are resolved *at all.* It doesn’t mean that bad things shouldn’t happen in children’s fiction; they happen in life and it would be dishonest to pretend differently. But because children have so much life ahead of them, there’s always hope. Adult Fiction can be bleak. Children’s Fiction should never be.

The rest of the essays and speeches are fine (I particularly enjoyed “The Way We Were — and Weren’t”). Some are dated…but they literally date back to 1970 (and go up through 2004), so that’s to be expected. A few sparkling sentences and ideas sprinkled throughout. And, a few ideas to which Babbitt dedicates too much time.

She’s a little too impassioned for me on the issue of whether fiction should teach anything. She insists, time and again, that children’s fiction shouldn’t be burdened with this task. Personally, I think she focuses more on the “should” than on the fact that it *does* — organically. If we continue to tell stories about life, the lessons will come.

She does also make a case for rebellion and for gleeful rule defiance in children’s fiction rather than creating mini handbooks for proper behavior. She says that if we do the latter, “we’ll subvert their purpose and destroy their magic.” She sees children’s fiction as being responsible for offering pleasure, first and foremost, which is hard to argue with and I wouldn’t dream of it. She insists that children’s fiction must acknowledge life’s big and little contradictions, which is sound advice.

Babbitt imagines a “children’s book section of [an] echoing library up in heaven where authors like”…”E.B. White and Beatrix Potter and Arnold Lobel”…”meet every morning for milk and cookies and have a good time talking shop.” I don’t believe in heaven. Regardless, I think it’s my new life goal to be able to join them someday.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

She’s a good diagnostician of what children like in story, so this was interesting, if a little ponderous and repetitive.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

These essays are spot on, even though many of them were written in the 70s and 80s. Writing for children is a unique endeavor, and Natalie Babbitt writes so many truths about children and writing.