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WAS THE CAT IN THE HAT BLACK?

Name: WAS THE CAT IN THE HAT BLACK?
Author: Philip Nel
ISBN: 978-0-19-063507-7

THE HIDDEN RACISM OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, AND THE NEED FOR DIVERSE BOOKS

by Philip Nel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2017

A fascinating and necessary critical work.

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An acclaimed children’s literature scholar picks up the mantle of Walter Dean Myers, Nancy Larrick, and others by exploring the ways in which the lack of diversity in children’s literature negatively affects American culture as a whole.

Working off of the premise that America has entered a new era of civil rights, Nel (English/Kansas State Univ.; Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children's Literature, 2012, etc.) asserts that the “cultures of childhood play a prominent role in replicating prejudice” and that stereotypes within literature are maintained and replicated through a combination of nostalgia, structural racism, fervent belief in the myth of American exceptionalism, and lack of exposure to varied minority life experiences. Referencing politics, popular culture, and his personal history, each of the author’s five chapters draws a different correlation between the power of visual culture—of which children’s books are an integral part—and fraught events such as the killing of Trayvon Martin and the recent presidential election. While Nel does not believe that the publishing industry deliberately perpetuates stereotypes, the enduring popular books that he references are his proof that doing so normalizes racial caricature for children, as beloved characters become so embedded in culture that their racial origins become invisible to successive generations of readers. In each chapter, the author demonstrates why he is considered a master in his field, as he faultlessly blends history and anecdote with insightful criticism. The second chapter, which discusses attempts to sanitize books such as Huckleberry Finn, is particularly enlightening. Directly addressing Alan Gribben’s edition of the book, which removes the “N-Word,” Nel adeptly points out that removing it not only misses the point of Twain’s work, but also makes the book’s racism more covert and therefore more insidious. Occasionally the author’s political leanings become apparent, which may turn away nonliberal readers.

A fascinating and necessary critical work.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-19-063507-7

Page Count: 296

Publisher: Oxford Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 14, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
CROCKETT JOHNSON AND RUTH KRAUSS
by Philip Nel

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ANNOTATED CAT
by Dr. Seuss & edited by Philip Nel

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.