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Should We Burn Babar?: Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of
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Should We Burn Babar?: Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of Stories Hardback - 1995

by Herbert R. Kohl

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The renowned author of 36 Children turns his attention to children's literature and the power of stories in education, from Robin Hood to the proletarian children's fiction of Vera Williams, highlighting instances of racism, sexism, and condescension that detract from the tale being told.

Reader reviews for Should We Burn Babar?: Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of Stories

From the publisher

In "provocative and entertaining essays [that] will appeal to reflective readers, parents, and educators" (Library Journal), one of the country's foremost education writers looks at the stories we tell our children. Available now in a revised edition, including a new essay on the importance of "stoop-sitting" and storytelling, Should We Burn Babar? challenges some of the chestnuts of children's literature. Highlighting instances of racism, sexism, and condescension that detract from the tales being told, Kohl provides strategies for detecting bias in stories written for young people and suggests ways to teach kids to think critically about what they read.

Beginning with the title essay on Babar the elephant--"just one of a fine series of inquiries into the power children's books have to shape cultural attitudes," according to Elliott Bay Booknotes--the book includes essays on Pinocchio, the history of progressive education, and a call for the writing of more radical children's literature. As the Hungry Mind Review concluded, "Kohl's prescriptions for renewing our schools through the use of stories and storytelling are impassioned, well-reasoned, and readable."


From the rear cover

The title essay, a consideration of Babar the elephant, raises the question of what to do with a charming and widely-loved book whose messages, nonetheless, need to be challenged. Also included in this volume is Kohl's acclaimed essay on Rosa Parks, available here for the first time in book form. In it Kohl points out the subtle, but real, racism inherent in the usual telling of the Rosa Parks story and offers another, more truthful version entitled "She Would Not Be Moved". This retelling illustrates how Mrs. Parks's actions were part of an organized struggle for freedom, not a mere personal act of frustration. Throughout, Kohl provides new perspectives on well-known children's stories, highlighting instances of racism, sexism, and condescension that detract from the tale being told. He provides strategies for detecting bias in other works for young people and offers powerful ideas for better ways to tell children stories.

Details

  • Title Should We Burn Babar?: Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of Stories
  • Author Herbert R. Kohl
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 178
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher New Press, New York
  • Publication date 1995-08
  • ISBN 9781565842588 / 1565842588
  • Weight 0.81 lbs (0.37 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.25 x 5.5 x 0.81 in (20.96 x 13.97 x 2.06 cm)
  • Category Literature - Classics / Criticism
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 95068697
  • Dewey Decimal Code 809.892

About the author

Herbert Kohl is a celebrated writer, teacher, and advocate. He is the author of more than forty books, including "I Won't Learn from You" And Other Thoughts on Creative Maladjustment, Should We Burn Babar?: Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of Stories, The Discipline of Hope: Learning from a Lifetime of Teaching, Stupidity and Tears: Teaching and Learning in Troubled Times, She Would Not Be Moved: How We Tell the Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and The Herb Kohl Reader: Awakening the Heart of Teaching (all published by The New Press), as well as the bestselling classic 36 Children. He is a co-author, with Judith Kohl, of The View from the Oak: The Private Worlds of Other Creatures and a co-editor, with Tom Oppenheim, of The Muses Go to School: Inspiring Stories About the Importance of Arts in Education, both published by The New Press. A recipient of a National Book Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, he was the founder and first director of the Teachers and Writers Collaborative in New York City, has served as a senior fellow at the Open Society Institute, and established the PEN West Center. In 2010, Kohl was named a Guggenheim Fellow in education. He lives in Point Arena, California.

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Should We Burn Babar?: Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of Stories
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Should We Burn Babar?: Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of Stories

by Kohl, Herbert R.

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Should We Burn Babar? : Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of Stories

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