Make Believe

<p><b><i>Make Believe</i> is a book for adults about books for children, a rallying cry for art and imagination, and a celebration of the power of storytelling in all our lives. <br></b><br>Mac Barnett, the beloved, bestselling children's author and U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, urges us to think expansively about the potential of children's books-and the particular brilliance of young readers:<br><br><i>What if children are a great audience for art?</i><br><i>What if they are in fact better equipped to engage deeply with stories than adults?</i><br><i>What if humans' ability to appreciate art is, if not innate, awakened early in childhood?</i><br><br><i>Well, then we'd better do our best to make some good kids' books.</i><br><br>Barnett has published more than 60 children's books, which have been translated into 30+ languages and have sold more than 5 million copies worldwide, winning many international prizes along the way. <i>Make Believe </i>is his incisive, intimate, and timely invitation to approach children's literature not only as an art form worthy of deep study and criticism, but as a portal into the lives of the children. And at a time when we are faced with a national literacy crisis, he champions the profound joys of literature and the importance of reading for pleasure.<br><br>Written with humor and academic rigor, <i>Make Believe</i> reads like a letter from one's smartest and funniest friend.</p>