Taste of Blackberries - Softcover

DORIS BUCHANAN SMITH (June 1, 1934 - August 8, 2002) was an award-winning American author of children's books distinguished for their realism. The first contemporary children's book author to deal with the difficult subject of death (A TASTE OF BLACKBERRIES), Smith also tackled divorce, obesity (LAST WAS LLOYD), juvenile delinquency, unwed mothers (RETURN TO BITTER CREEK), dyslexia, and child abuse (TOUGH CHAUNCEY), in a series of books that were praised for their sensitivity and relevance.

"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, The Read-Aloud Handbook, Sixth Edition, 2006

"Smith deals honestly and emphatically with the range of emotions... the story is not, however, an elegy; but a celebration of the continuity of the life-death cycle." The Atlanta Journal, 1973, Cynthia Westway

"It will be difficult to find a children's book this autumn by a new author as good as Doris Buchanan Smith's A Taste of Blackberries."  Times Literary Supplement, 1975, David Rees

"Rightfully viewed, along with Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia, 1977, as one of the seminal children's books on the subject of death."  School Library Journal, Ann Welton, 2002