"It blazed the way for the many other grief books that quickly followed."
"A believable, poignant tale of friendship, loss, and acceptance."
When Doris Buchanan Smith sought a publisher for A Taste Of Blackberries, she learned her book's theme was taboo. Death had been a common refrain in the children's literature of the Victorian era, think "Oliver Twist," but the subject had gone out of fashion, and remained so until 1952, when E. B. White's classic, Charlotte's Web, reintroduced mortality to young readers. In 1973, death still wasn't easily embraced by publishers for children the way it is today, think "Harry Potter."
"The sensitivity with which the attendant sorrow and guilt are treated makes this an outstanding book. It blazed the way for the many other grief books that quickly followed, but few have approached the place of honor this one holds." JIM TRELEASE, GIANT TREASURY OF GREAT READ-ALOUD BOOKS (Penguin, 2006)