Mac Barnett, a man who has created a lot of popular books for young readers, has just published his first book for adults. Called MAKE BELIEVE, it is apparently a delightful primer on writing for children, filled with pearls of wisdom dropped from on high. The only problem is, he managed to cram his foot in his mouth with this simple statement: “94.7 percent of children’s books are crud.”

Jeez, Mac. That’s harsh. Does that mean 94.7 percent of your books are crud? Even more horrifying, does that mean that 94.7 percent of my books are crud? Damn, I may as well hang it up right now.

One question, though: who gets to be the judge of what constitutes that dastardly 94.7 percent? Is it the people who are banning books in Texas and Florida? Is it the kids who refuse their parents’ entreaties to go to the library by saying, “What’s the point? That place is filled with… wait, what’s the word? Oh yeah… crud.”

Is it you, Mac Barnett?

I don’t want to soapbox here. First of all, I’m late to the party, and poor Mac has already been taken to the woodshed and back, multiple times. (The kidlit community can really get after it when they take up a cause.) Also, I’m too lazy to go on for too long (just the fact that I’m writing this blog at all is impressive, at least to me). All I really want to say is that there is no such thing as a cruddy book if it has been read, or even glanced at, by at least one child. There is no such thing as a cruddy book if it is the first book that child has ever read, which then might lead to another book, and then another, and then, possibly – gasp! – a non-cruddy book. There is no such thing as a cruddy book if it introduces a child to feeling of holding a different world or a distant planet in his or her hands. And there is no such thing as a cruddy book if someone actually took the time to write it, to share something of themselves that just might enrich the life of others.

I’m 94.7 percent sure I’m right about this.