Children’s and young adult lit gets a bad rap. Granted, there is a bunch of poorly written crap out there that does nothing but titillate the senses of hormonal tweens (I read my share). But there is some challenging, deeply interesting, and amazing work geared towards the younger audience, that inspires equal devotion from the adult set.

Philip Pullman is supposedly a writer of children’s books. But he upends all the rules about what can and can’t be in a book for young minds, and creates ageless, timeless masterpieces. He’s a writer that matters.

Pullman is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy, a fantastical series that combines alternative dimensions, the perils of theocracy, and extended allegory with two very likeable and conflicted kids from different worlds, Lyra and Will. Here’s the thing: the book is outside of religion, but deeply enmeshed within a society where religion has gone wrong. There are witches, pirates, and daemons, and they’re the good guys. It’s a topsy turvy world where it’s hard to get your bearings, but once you do you realize – holy shit, kids actually get this??

Pullman expects a lot of his readers. He demands that they follow along in a whirlwind tale, that they open their minds to the analogies he’s making, and that they think about the role of rebellion. In fact, he encourages readers to root for the greatest rebellion of all, against the mythical but very real AUTHORITY that rules our lives. Is it any surprise that Pullman and his books have been shrouded in controversy?

To demonstrate the ire and dedication that Pullman simultaneously inspires, and his rebellious nature, a quote from a Q&A:

Q: You have run into criticism from certain religious groups who regard you as subversive, with the Catholic Herald describing your work as ‘worthy of the bonfire.’ Do such emotional responses concern or upset you or does it please you to generate strong reactions?
PP: I’m delighted to have brought such excitement into what must be very dull lives.

In Pullman’s worlds, there is good and evil, but they are often hard to spot. What should be scary and dangerous (killer polar bears, witch covens) is the most safe and sane; what should be comforting and good for you (parents, beauty, religious devotion) is a threat to individual existence and the greater good. That’s the power of writing, and Pullman does it with wit and delight.

And for those writers seeking inspiration from the talents of the masters? Pullman engages in his craft with a healthy dose of realism:

Q: What do you do about writer’s block?
PP: I don’t believe in it. All writing is difficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; why should writers be the only profession that gives a special name to the difficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it?

Want to read more? Dive into the Trilogy. Play around in his extensive home page. And check out these phenomenal interviews/articles:

• Powells Interview on the His Dark Materials Trilogy
• “Far From Narnia: Philip Pullman’s secular fantasy” for children from the New Yorker
• “Philip Pullman — the extended e-mail interview” from Filmchat

Got a Pullman favorite? Seen the movie? (I deliberately abstained) Tell us about it in the comments!

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