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I understand why parents worry about books - they're worried about their kids. They want to keep their kids safe. But parents aren't always realistic.

Pretending that there are no choices to be made - reading only books, for example, which are cheery and safe and nice - is a prescription for disaster for the young.

I hope my books empower kids, and that they learn how to work out their problems themselves.

When children are very young, you read them books that are positive to help them go to sleep. But there comes a moment when they begin to understand the difficulties of the world. They know there are problems and the books they read should reflect that, not gloss over them.

It worries me that undergrads and high school students are forced into books they aren't ready for, like Faulkner's, and then they are afraid of putting their toes in the water again.

Children will not pretend to be enjoying books, and they will not read books because they have been told that these books are good. They are looking for delight.

Once you've got a child to the point that they've discovered books, they're safe. There's a world of the imagination that when they're hurt or upset, they can move into, and it is wonderful.

Here's the thing: If you don't want your kids to read a book, fine. You can tell them not to read a book, and maybe they will and maybe they won't. But you can't say what other kids can read.

Here's a confession: I hate parenting books. I hate the ones that are earnest and repetitive.