Now in his early eighties, Clifton Fadiman adds a nice turn to a distinguished career and considers children’s literature.
“Grandparents and grandchildren, the enders and the beginners, are not rivals but natural friends,” says he. Volumes I and II are for kids aged four to eight and are in fact one book divided in two to give small hands a better chance at holding on. Volume III is for ages nine through fourteen, but with Fadiman’s interesting commentaries and catholic taste it makes little sense to put age brackets on these selections. He is also careful to refer young readers to the full length versions of the books he chooses from. Here are Jonathan Swift, A.A. Milne and Maurice Sendak, but also Sylvia Plath, Lennon-McCartney and Yevgeny Yevtushenko.
