E.B. White is a favorite in our house — we’ve all read “Charlotte’s Web” and “Stuart Little,” and have volumes of his nonfiction essays as well as “The Elements of Style.”

But it is his quote, about books written for children, that always struck me: “Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down. Children are demanding. They are the most attentive, curious, eager, observant, sensitive, quick, and generally congenial readers on earth… Children are game for anything. I throw them hard words and they backhand them across the net.”

I love children’s books, especially the middle grades genre for ages 8 to 12. These books often deal with really tough topics in ways that relate to both children and adults.

One of my favorite children’s authors is Kate DiCamillo. She has a new book titled “The Hotel Balzaar” (read about it on page 6) and this could not delight me more.

Her books make me laugh out loud — Mercy Watson is a hilarious pig that reminds me a bit of White’s Wilbur, and “Because of Winn-Dixie” is delightful. But her writing also makes me cry (“The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” and “The Tale of Despereaux”).

I often think that children’s books hit adults a bit differently. Take, for instance, this quote from “Despereaux”: “This is the danger of loving: No matter how powerful you are, no matter how many kingdoms you rule, you cannot stop those you love from dying.”

Stories, to me, can be a great adventure or a great comfort. Sometimes we just need to feel something, whether that is giggling at the antics of a pig named Mercy who loves hot buttered toast, or going on a quest with a rat named Despereaux.

I’m always hesitant to recommend books out of fear that someone may not love a story as much as I do. But I would think that everyone could find something to enjoy in the stories of Kate DiCamillo.

Her website opens with this: “The world is dark and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story.”

And I, for one, am ready to listen.