Politically charged children's books

Well one book series that has been given lots of attention but not for that reason is the Harry Potter Books

*** WARNING - MILD SPOILER AHEAD ***

In some of the later books Harry and his underground group of friends actively work against the government and the establishment. I found this to be very interesting as it's teaching kids realy not to trust authority all the time. It's a great message but everyones after them over the witchcraft piece, so the anti-establishment thread gets lost in the shuffle.

(Mild spoiler if you haven't read all the books) The thing I love about Harry Potter is that it shows that evil does not always show up in a cape with glowing eyes. It comes in the most banal forms- in fact these forms (the Dursleys and Dolores Umbridge)are in many ways harder to fight then the standard villains.
I am sure I will also be born out in my prediction that Snape, despite being an asshole, will turn out to be loyal to the Order of the Phoenix. [img]wink.gif" border="0[/img]

I think all of Seuss' books had messages that may have been considered political at the time of publishing, since his books advocate for equality and cooperation and against bigotry.

Sounds good. I know him as a singer/songwriter. He wrote "The World Turned Upside Down" about the Diggers (the originals).

We should be careful what we mean by "banned".

1. "Banned" could mean "made illegal by the governing authorities to own or distribute." In this sense, certain kinds of pornography are banned in many countries as are certain kinds of hate literature.

2. Sometimes people say that a book was "banned" by a certain library or bookstore if that library or bookstore decided not to carry that book for political reasons. Similarly, people sometimes say that a book was "banned" by a school board, if the school board decided, for political reasons, not to teach the book or to make it available to its students. If a book is banned in the second sense, then people can, of course, legally own and distribute the book.

I assume that the Lorax was banned only in the weaker sense, i.e. sense #2. No school or library has the power to "ban" books in the stronger sense, i.e. sense #1.

Many generally progressive writers and other artists took part in the anti-Nazi war effort.

What is sad then is that even Seuss, who did a lot of antiracist stuff after the war as well, fell into horrific racist stereotyping of the Japanese.

Seuss's most political book was the Cold-war allegory [url=http://www.geocities.com/onewhoisalmighty/butter.html]The Butter Battle Book[/url].

And [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMolzESn4oI]The Sneetches[/url] was about racism.

[ 02 April 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]

[url=http://www.rabble.ca/babble/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=21&t=000065]F... books for kids[/url]

Another book I'd recommend was the children's book adaptation of "Brundibar" , with text by Tony Kushner and illustrations by Maurice Sendak.

For those who don't know, "Brundibar" was originally a children's opera produced in the Terezin(Theresienstadt)concentration camp in occupied Czechoslovakia by adult and child camp detainees. Operating under extreme constraints(as you might imagine)they created a story of children standing up to and defeating a horrible villain(guess who?). Apparently, none of the camp guards or wardens picked up on what they were talking about.

Here's the Wikipedia link to give you a better sense of the story.

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brundib%C3%A1r]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki...

[ 03 April 2008: Message edited by: Ken Burch ]

Heh. Like [url=http://christianfairwitness.com/]these guys?[/url]

[url=http://christianfairwitness.com/umc/Methodist_From_Palestine_To_Seattle.... whine.[/url]

And check out [url=http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=1466]... promoters of "fair" reporting of the middle east:[/url]

quote:

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These activists also believe in an alternative universe in which Israeli concessions and withdrawals bringing about an end to Palestinian violence – a fairy tale that has been proven false on numerous occasions in the past decade.

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Wow, but they're not biased at all, are they? Lying pricks.

[ 07 April 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]

Take some acai berry and fuck off, spammer.

Ok, this isn't about books but - when I was a kid, we used to watch "The Wonderful World of Disney" on Sunday nights and my dad would keep up a running commentary, pointing out the American/capitalist propaganda aspects of whatever they were showing. I suppose I could have ended up resenting this but he made a compelling case! It's not a bad way to educate kids politically (and arm them). 

Read David Bowie’s "Space Oddity" transformed into the saddest children’s book ever

Wow. Gross.

And why is this only causing outrage among American Muslims?

Sarah and the Seed

All the books in the world...Except one

http://books.google.ca/books/about/If_the_World_Were_a_Village.html?id=t...

Love that book, Winston!

Quote:

'No, that simply cannot be,' the foreigner objected firmly.

     'Why not?'

     `Because,' the  foreigner replied  and, narrowing his eyes, looked into the  sky,  where, anticipating  the cool of the  evening,  black  birds were tracing noiselessly, 'Annushka has already bought the sunflower oil, and has not only bought it, but has already spilled it. So the meeting will not take place.'

     Here, quite understandably, silence fell under the lindens.

Dr. Seuss quote too political for B.C. school

Quote:

A quote from a Dr. Seuss book about a turtle trying to assert his rights is too political for students who shouldn't be caught in the middle of the current teachers' dispute, says a school administrator in Prince Rupert, B.C.

Dave Stigant, acting director of instruction for the local school district, said Wednesday he vetoed a quote from Yertle the Turtle when a teacher asked him to look at about 20 quotes to determine if they would be appropriate to expose students to during the ongoing labour dispute.

The quote was: "I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here on the bottom, we too should have rights."

Stigant said he doesn't care if the quote or the whole book is used in a classroom, but it's not OK for teachers to wear political slogans on buttons or T-shirts or display them in their cars on school property.

"This is simply an attempt to make the district look absurd." 

Indeed.

This man is not an educator. He is an administrator.

True, but try telling that to him and the associations who represent people like him.

BCSSA wrote:

 

Who We Are - The members of the BCSSA are the superintendents, assistant superintendents, directors of instruction and other senior executives of BC's 60 school districts. Prior to their district-level appointments, our members served for many years as teachers and principals. They each hold a valid BC Teacher's Certificate and bring highly-developed skills and a lifelong passion for teaching and learning to their district positions. BCSSA members are the province's educational leaders, uniquely qualified to ensure the success of students and school district operations.

There are currently more than 250 BCSSA members, including some members who have been seconded to the Ministry of Education. Additionally, there are more than 200 senior active (retired from school district) members who participate in association activities.

BCPVPA wrote:

1. The BCPVPA will strive to ensure its members have the skills to be effective educational leaders;
2. The BCPVPA will advocate for its members to have the time, resources and support to be effective educational leaders;
3. The BCPVPA will work cooperatively with education partners to sustain and improve public education;
4. The BCPVPA will proactively monitor emerging issues to inform, support and advise members;
5. The BCPVPA will be recognized as an innovative, inclusive and vigorous community of educational leaders
6. The BCPVPA will maintain a strong efficient and effective organization.

http://www.bcpvpa.bc.ca/node/1