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Title: Should We Burn Babar?: Essays on Children's Literature and the Power of Stories by Herbert R. Kohl, Jack Zipes, Herbert Kohl ISBN: 1-56584-259-6 Publisher: New Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.6 (5 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: It's a Kid's Book, Not a Bible for Isms
Comment: I like Herbert Kohl and his theory of 'creative maladjustment'. He's a persuasive author. But I do believe this book misses the whole point of Babar: learning to get along in a child-dom of the imagination not a real kingdom in the feudal/colonial sense! Nor do I feel the author of Babar is portraying colonialism as a good thing. The author created a setting -- with the look and feel of the historical/cultural India -- and a story for children as children, not a parable or case study for college students. It's up to parents and teachers to explain that colonialism is a bad thing of the past. As for critical reading, that starts at about age 10-12, past the age of the target audience for Babar. There is a time and a place for learning everything. As a child, I appreciated Babar simply for what it was -- I had no notions of "isms" of any kind. The De Brunhoffs are not indoctrinating children; they are simply entertaining them. Every adult puts things in terms children can understand -- literary, cultural, historical, geographic, religious, animal, fairy tale. Kids will grow up and learn the isms for what they are, and will invent new ones.
It's interesting how Mr. Kohl sidesteps the issue of book censorship by telling people not to buy the books, making the title provocative and misleading. Does Mr. Kohl discuss "Huckleberry Finn" in his book? (It mentions the n- word.) I can't recall.
Currently I am reading a lovely book co-authored by Mr. Kohl and Colin Greer, "The Plain Truth of Things." I highly recommend it.
Rating: 5
Summary: The last reviewer didn't read it
Comment: I'm sorry, but the quality of Amazon reviews needs to be a bit higher. The last reviewer obviously hasn't read the book, but has only made a comment of what s/he assumes is in the book based on the Amazon review. The reviewer should be ashamed. I'm willing to forgive the people who thought that was a helpful comment as they may not have realized that the reviewer had not read the book. That's why I am writing this review. Herbert Kohl is a great writer and these essays are informative and sensible. Don't be fooled!!!
The essay "Should We Burn Babar?" is actually a quite thought-provoking and even-handed review of the issue of what ideas kids should have access to. Herbert Kohl may be a progressive educator, but he never advocates "political correctness" or bland literature. In fact, he argues against that approach to solving the problem. In the end, his conclusion is actually:
"I wouldn't ban or burn Babar, or pull it from libraries. But buy it? No. I see no reason to go out of one's way to make Babar available to children, primarily because I don't see much critical reading going on in the schools, and children don't need to be propagandized about colonialism, sexism, or racism. [p 28]"
The title may be a bit shocking, but his conclusions are mild and based on a good argument.
Rating: 5
Summary: A great book--inspirational and thoughtful
Comment: As an author/illustrator of children's books and an avid reader, I found this book a great source of inspiration--it will also be a wonderful guide for parents who are concerned about the rampant but often undiscussed stereotypes present in much children's literature.
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Title: The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales by Bruno Bettelheim ISBN: 0679723935 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 April, 1989 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: "I Won't Learn from You": And Other Thoughts on Creative Maladjustment by Herbert Kohl ISBN: 1565840968 Publisher: New Press Pub. Date: 01 July, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Bonjour, Babar!: The 6 Unabridged Classics by the Creator of Babar by Jean De Brunhoff, Kevin Henkes, Jean De Brunhoff ISBN: 0375810609 Publisher: Random House Children's Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Stupidity and Tears by Herbert R. Kohl, Herbert Kohl ISBN: 1565848519 Publisher: New Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: The Classic Fairy Tales by Iona Archivald Opie, Peter Opie ISBN: 0195202198 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1980 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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