Seeing Past Z: Nurturing the Imagination in a Fast-Forward World by Beth Kephart. (0-393-05882-4)
This is not children’s literature, but an amazing series of essays on Kephart raising her son to be a reader and a dreamer, intentionally removing him from the race to improve his high school resume as a child. The reader gets to watch as her son reluctantly starts to read on his own for pleasure and eventually turns into a force of creativity all his own. This book will do any librarian’s heart good. It is a celebration of what language, reading, and imagination can do to transform somone’s life. A must read!