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Children’s author Mac Barnett talks to first, second, and third grade students at Grande Reserve Elementary School in Yorkville recently as part of a visit organized by Anderson’s Bookstore in Naperville. Barnett, from Berkeley, Calif., has authored 24 children’s books. Photos by Tony Scott tscott@kendallcountynow.com
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Children’s book author Mac Barnett visits Grande Reserve Elementary School By TONY SCOTT tscott@kendallcountynow.com When author Mac Barnett starts his day at his home in Berkeley, Calif, he’s faced with a scary monster: a blank page. Anyone who writes for a living or who creates anything from scratch knows the frustration of writer’s block, and it was one of the many topics Barnett addressed with charming gusto during an appearance before a group of first, second, and third grade students at Grande Reserve Elementary School in Yorkville Oct. 5. Barnett, 34, has written 24 children’s books over his career. He’s been promoting his latest, “The Magic Word,” at schools and bookstores across the country. His appearance at Grande Reserve was organized by Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, where he appeared for a book reading later that evening. Want to write a good children’s book? Barnett said it’s similar to writing a good
book for adults. “I think the key to writing a good children’s book is the same as writing a good book for adults: you want to say something honest, and in a style suitable for the story you’re telling,” he said. “It’s the writer’s job to express some truth about the world – what’s tricky with kids’ books is that a child’s world is very different from an adult’s.” After the presentation, Barnett said kids are still into reading books, despite living in an age of apps and other digital distractions. “I spend a lot of time in schools and bookstores, reading with kids, and I can tell you that children are still reading books,” he said. “There’s data that backs this up – in pretty large numbers, young people prefer reading on paper to tablets. So the trick to getting kids to read is the same it’s always been: give them good books. And that’s a tough trick.”
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A group of students listen in rapt attention as author Mac Barnett reads from his latest book “The Magic Word” at Grande Reserve Elementary School in Yorkville.