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1 1 An Introduction to Children and Their Literature Sometimes there was a good reason to break the rules. Even in the library. — Michelle Knudsen, Library Lion (Candlewick, 2006) Did you like to read when you were a child? Classics? Comic books? Newbery win-­ ners? Nancy Drew? If you did, what do you think were the factors that contributed to that? Did your family include avid readers? (Researchers have found that this is the #1 reason that most people become readers.) Or did you grow up in an environment (in the neighborhood, in school, in a library) where reading was modeled and encouraged? (This can be a major factor in fostering a lifelong love of reading.) If you were not an avid reader as a child, it’s not too late to become one. I have found that many adults who missed the reading “bug” in childhood often dis- cover a new love of reading through reading children’s books as adults. There’s something about immersing oneself in the best books for young people that is interesting, informative, and even inspiring. It connects us with our childhoods, as well as with the children in our circle. Sure, a lovely picture book can take us back to special childhood memories, but it is also a carefully crafted work