Two years ago, readers polled for a World Book Day survey said they overwhelmingly preferred a tale with a happy ending. No big surprise there. But that survey comes out of the U.K., and I can't help but wonder how Minnesota readers would have answered. Minnesota writers often enough eschew the superficial sunshine that passes for entertainment — gloomy Garrison Keillor, raw and mystical Louise Erdrich, unsatisfied F. Scott Fitzgerald — even the classic children's tale, "Millions of Cats," by New Ulm's Wanda Gag, ends with a colossal catfight in which all but out of a million kitties die. We make 'em dark here, whether or not we like 'em that way. Read more...

By Amy Goetzman