Children's Books for Fun's Sake

Author, Anita Silvey, renowned for her encyclopedic knowledge of children's books and elegant hats,  questioned 100 people to select noteworthy childrens' books when writing Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Book. She asked them to answer this question: "What children's book changed the way you see the world?" According to the "Authors Guild Bulletin", winter 2010, quoting from PW, Maurice Sendak replied: "Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon is just immense fun. Harold does exactly as he pleases....Books shouldn't teach. They shouldn't give lessons. Kids should feel that they can do what they want and no one will punish them. They can just be kids and enjoy reading and looking at a book."