Rolling Stones’ Jonathan Cott is best known as a music writer. The new edition of his 1981 Pipers at the Gates of Dawn is a reminder that Cott is psychologically astute, broad in his cultural sensibility as well as a highly engaging interviewer. In Pipers, Cott interviews Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, P.L. Travers, Chinua Achebe and other 20th century children’s authors, drawing out their influences and objectives, the archetypes that informed (consciously or not) their work. They were long, smart conversations. Their articulate responses are framed by Cott’s understanding of the varieties of children’s literature and their subversive potential. In her introduction to the new edition, critic Maria Popova calls on readers to look past the “wonder-blunting habits” of grownups.
