Barbara Cooney On A Robust Literary Diet

“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’s reach should exceed his grasp. So should a child’s. For myself, I will never talk down to—or draw down to—children.”