“You don’t need to be a teenager to admire this smart, funny, and altogether original take on teen movies that turns out to be a riveting cultural history. Handy convincingly elevates the genre to that of the western as a purveyor of national myths.” —Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and Pandora’s Box

PRAISE FOR WILD THINGS:

“A terrific rumpus of a journey into the world of illustrated and young reader classics . . . Wild Things makes a convincing case for reading children’s books as an adult.” —The A.V. Club

“A charming, discursive encounter with classic children’s literature from the perspective of a parent . . . Mr. Handy writes with zip, sincerity, and good humor. . . For parents who are embarking on this phase of rediscovery, for those in the thick of it, and for those for whom it is a warm and recent memory, Wild Things will be a delightful excursion. . . . It is also engaging and full of genuine feeling, and I liked it very much.” —Meghan Cox Gurdon, The Wall Street Journal

“Consistently intelligent and funny . . . The book succeeds wonderfully. . . . The Handy children’s appearances are brief but disproportionately memorable. Just as almost all kids’ books, with their frequent appearances by talking animals, are part emotional masquerade, Wild Things, too, is in disguise. It reads as a companionable romp through all the stories you sometimes tire of reading to your own children. But like The Runaway Bunny, it’s really a gently obsessive tale, a man gathering up so many words and ideas as if to create a magical stay against his own children growing up.” —Rivka Galchen, The New York Times Book Review

“Nothing less than a Golden Ticket into the Whipple-Scrumptious world of children’s classics, where mystical and marvelous surprises await . . . Literary criticism through the prism of memoir, Wild Things is a read—a ride!—of pure pleasure.” —Vanity Fair

“Wild Things is relaxed, discursive, and personal. . . . The result is very pleasing to read. . . . Handy quotes liberally from each book he admires, and he curates those passages beautifully, allowing readers both literary pleasure and a kind of time travel. His analyses are affectionate and often eccentric. He’s got a magpie’s eye for odd and shiny details. . . . His foray into children’s literature allowed him more than a simple chance to re-encounter the favorite books of his youth. It allowed him the chance to hold close his children’s younger selves. ‘By one measure, I suppose,’ he writes, ‘you are holding in your hands a work of sublimated grief.’ How beautiful, and how painful, and how incontrovertibly true.” —The New York Times

“Delightful . . . Ranging from Goodnight Moon to Charlotte’s Web, Handy cogently captures each book’s artistic and emotional qualities while deftly placing it in cultural and historical context.” —Newsday

“Witty and engaging . . . Inspired by reading to his own kids, Handy’s brief but deeply satisfying survey of children’s literature marries curiosity, humor, and downright excitement. . . . Wild Things showcases the universality of children’s literature, the best of which inspires readers of all ages.” —Samantha Bronkar, The Christian Science Monitor

“Rollicking and razor sharp, consistently engaging, always on point, and packed with history, theory, and humor . . . Highly recommended for anyone who reads—or has read—children’s literature.” —Library Journal (starred review)