A Velocity of Being :: A Dazzling Collection of Writers & Illustrators Make The Case For Reading

A Velocity of Being

A Dazzling Collection of Writers & Illustrators Make The Case For Reading

The National Book Review: 12.26.2018 by Joan Silverman

Which  of these statements is true: “A Velocity of Being” is the name of (a) a  scientific tract, (b) an existential treatise, or (c) a children’s  book?

It is indeed the title of a children’s book — for middle school readers, or tweens, to be exact. But that’s like saying that candy is solely for children. “A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader” is for adults and kids alike — for anyone who’s ever thought about the meaning and value of books. It’s also a twofer in other ways: It’s an illustrated book with bold artwork on every spread, each letter paired with its graphic counterpart. And it’s undeniably a coffee table book for the grown-ups in the room.

“Velocity” is a celebration of reading and books, and quite a feat, at that. The book’s editors, Maria Popova and Claudia Bedrick, sought out authors of every stripe — novelists and scientists, artists and entrepreneurs — and asked each of them to write a letter to young readers. The list of contributors reads like a Who’s Who of contemporary  culture — David Byrne and Yo-Yo Ma, Jane Goodall, Ursula K. Le Guin, Richard Branson, Anne Lamott — with 121 letters in all.  Ditto for the many illustrators, including Maira Kalman and Roz Chast, who gave visual life to the project. Remarkably, the whole venture was an act of readerly altruism: Eight years later, the book has arrived, its contents donated, and its profits earmarked for the New York Public Library. That, in tribute to the essential, formative role that books and libraries play in our lives.  READ MORE >>