Before Austen Comes Aesop presents an in-depth examination of the Children's Great Books, that is, the literature that has made the most profound impact on the lives of children throughout Western history...The book's premise is that children often do not spend enough time with literature written or adapted for them before diving into adult works.

"For nearly fifty years, Vivian Gornick's essays have explored feminism and writing, literature and culture, politics and personal experience. Drawing on writing from the course of her career, this book illuminates one of the driving themes behind Gornick's work: the painful process of understanding one's self that binds us to the larger world"--

A collection of both previously unpublished works and classic essays includes discussions of recent cultural and political events, social networking, libraries, and the failure to address global warming. Since she burst spectacularly into view with her debut novel almost two decades ago, Zadie Smith has established herself not just as one of the world's preeminent fiction writers, but also a brilliant and singular essayist. She contributes regularly...

A librarian and authoritative reviewer provides practical guidelines to help other librarians, parents, teachers, children's literature students and general readers evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a children's book and write reviews for a particular audience.

The incomparable Smith melds the tale and the essay into a magical hybrid form, a song of praise to the power of stories in our lives. Refusing to be tied down to either fiction or the essay form, this book is narrated by a character who is haunted--literally--by a former lover, the writer of a series of lectures about art and literature.

Memorable and surprising tales from the lives and works of Martin Amis, Jane Austen, James Baldwin and others and includes lists of recommended reading for every month of the year, as well as snippets from book reviews as they appeared across literary history and throughout and are illustrations by acclaimed artist Joanna Neborsky.

"Explores how English authors altered and transformed the English language and forms of writing. Describes prominent authors' works and how those works were influenced by, and in turn influenced, historical contexts and literary contexts"--

"An engaging, thought-provoking, and polemical volume on what makes American literature what it is today"--

"In this book Dr. Moody shares the groundbreaking results of four decades of research into the philosophy of nonsense, revealing new ways to understand and experience life, death, and spirituality"--