As a part of my program, I get to attend lectures given by experts in the children’s literature field. Last Monday, Nancy Willard came to Hollins and talked about the author’s voice and the art of storytelling. While she said a lot of interesting things, I want to pass on one funny line she said.

“In fantasies and fairy tales, you can make things up, but you can’t make mistakes.” 

This declaration followed a story about a mis-drawn bird in her book Cinderella’s Dress. It was one of those ‘duh’ sentences that makes you nevertheless nod your head because it’s so true.

Here are some of Nancy Willard’s books: