Barbara Cooney

I believe that children in this country need a more robust literary diet than they are getting. _It does not hurt them to read about good and evil, love and hate, life and death. Nor do I think they should read only about things that they understand. '_a man__ reach should exceed his grasp.' So should a child__. For myself, I will never talk down to, or draw down to, children.(from the author's acceptance speech for the Caldecott award)