Most serious children's literature, like adults', pertains to the individualist, the competitor or the capitalist in us. There are myriad stories about the amassing of personal wealth and riches, of overcoming personal hardship, and of adventures that further or speak to private success. Missing are the stories, fiction or true that speak of collective struggles; racial, economic, or social, of activism for social justice and change, stories that empower more than the one, "stories that do not celebrate wealth", as Herbert Kohl says in his provocative book Should We Burn Babar.
Kohl ponders on the absence of books "that fundamentally question the world as it is and dream it as it might be," noting that "resignation, defiance or the quest for personal success become the only imaginable options unless the young have other sources for generating hope". We need more than what is offered for a world that is in crisis, such as ours. "The dreams and imaginings of oppressed people must embody the shape of a world free of domination if they are to nurture hope. And literature has a crucial role in delineating these dreams and embodying them in stories" Kohl says.
Often, in the instances when history texts or books do talk about the successes of a ‘minority' or ‘racial' struggle, the story is still mis-represented, usually in a manner that undermines the strength and intelligence of the organizing parties, Kohl makes a case in point in his essay on Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott, ‘Rosa was tired'. He supplies his own sample of how it might be more truthfully presented. bringing in suppressed or neglected issues around the central importance of community, solidarity and organization.
Kohl believes that children as young as three or four are capable of-- and should be taught -- critical analysis. He questions the place of power and wealth in literature such as Babar the elephant, his "token for what is objectionable in children's literature". This book is racist, colonialist, and sexist in nature yet it is also considered a classic. Well, should we indeed burn Babar? Kohl, in his tactful but direct way leaves it up to us to take a stance. Either way, we are left shocked and with a deeper understanding of how insidious the influence of an unexamined literature can be.
Should We Burn Babar also includes critiques of the public school system in America. Kohl is a progressive educator working and teaching within the system and his essays bring insight into the history of progressive education in the States, and some of the people that have worked to ‘humanize' the system ( if such a thing is possible, which is another story).
Here is a challenging and stimulating book for people concerned about literature for the young. The lack of radical children's literature is an issue that can no longer be ignored. Kohl extends an invitation to writers to consider this absence and to fill this desperate need by writing stories that challenge the status quo. What should our children read? You'll have a clearer opinion once you read Should We Burn Babar.
Return to the Radio Free School home page