Tales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature

In 1912, a revolutionary chick cries, "Strike down the wall!" and liberates itself from the "egg state." In 1940, ostriches pull their heads out of the sand and unite to fight fascism. In 1972, Baby X grows up without a gender and is happy about it.

Rather than teaching children to obey authority, to conform, or to seek redemption through prayer, twentieth-century leftists encouraged children to question the authority of those in power. Tales for Little Rebels collects forty-three mostly out-of-print stories, poems, comic strips, primers, and other texts for children that embody this radical tradition. These pieces reflect the concerns of twentieth-century leftist movements, like peace, civil rights, gender equality, environmental responsibility, and the dignity of labor. They also address the means of achieving these ideals, including taking collective action, developing critical thinking skills, and harnessing the liberating power of the imagination.

Some of the authors and illustrators are familiar, including Lucille Clifton, Syd Hoff, Langston Hughes, Walt Kelly, Norma Klein, Munro Leaf, Julius Lester, Eve Merriam, Charlotte Pomerantz, Carl Sandburg, and Dr. Seuss. Others are relatively unknown today, but their work deserves to be remembered. (Each of the pieces includes an introduction and a biographical sketch of the author.) From the anti-advertising message of Johnny Get Your Money's Worth (and Jane Too)! (1938) to the entertaining lessons in ecology provided by The Day They Parachuted Cats on Borneo (1971), and Sandburg's mockery of war in Rootabaga Pigeons (1923), these pieces will thrill readers intrigued by politics and history — and anyone with a love of children's literature, no matter what age.

"A rarely discussed aspect of children's literature — the politics behind, or part, of a book's creation — has been thoroughly explored in this intelligent, enlightening, and fascinating account.... Every academic and public library should own a copy; every children's literature professor needs to read it; all children's book enthusiasts will want to share it with their colleagues." Anita Silvey, author of 100 Best Books for Children

"Sure, this is an important work. But it ain't stuffy. Mickenberg and Nel have created a book that fascinates and entertains. A must for any student of history or children's books." Lane Smith, author of John, Paul, George & Ben and illustrator of The Stinky Cheese Man

"For those who want to understand a time when radicals could think of themselves as having a central place in U.S. culture, right down to science instruction; for those who cherish beautiful, playful, wistful and stark illustrations; for those who can use reminders, after horrors and defeats, of the bedrock ethical bases of socialism, for those who want to know where a Dr. Seuss came from, and what he was part of, and for those who still think the world could use more little and grown-up rebels, this is the book." David Roediger, University of Illinois, and author of How Race Survived U.S. History

"Mickenberg and Nel have switched on the power of radical children s literature to maximum wattage, revealing a rich, compelling tradition that deserves our attention. Creating an archive that will have authority and endurance, they have recovered stories encouraging children to engage with social, economic, and environment challenges and to become agents of change." Maria Tatar, Harvard University, and author of The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen

A rarely discussed aspect of children's literature — the politics behind a book's creation — has been thoroughly explored in this intelligent, enlightening, and fascinating account.

Can White parents teach their Black children African American culture and history? Can they impart to them the survival skills necessary to survive in the racially stratified United States? Concerns over racial identity have been at the center of controversies over transracial adoption since the 1970s, as questions continually arise about whether White parents are capable of instilling a positive sense of African American identity in their Black children.

"[An] empathetic study of meanings of cross-racial adoption to adoptees"

—Law and Politics Book Review, Vol. 11, No. 11, Nov. 2001

Through in-depth interviews with adult transracial adoptees, as well as with social workers in adoption agencies, Sandra Patton, herself an adoptee, explores the social construction of race, identity, gender, and family and the ways in which these interact with public policy about adoption. Patton offers a compelling overview of the issues at stake in transracial adoption. She discusses recent changes in adoption and social welfare policy which prohibit consideration of race in the placement of children, as well as public policy definitions of "bad mothers" which can foster coerced aspects of adoption, to show how the lives of transracial adoptees have been shaped by the policies of the U.S. child welfare system.

Neither an argument for nor against the practice of transracial adoption, BirthMarks seeks to counter the dominant public view of this practice as a panacea to the so-called "epidemic" of illegitimacy and the misfortune of infertility among the middle class with a more nuanced view that gives voice to those directly involved, shedding light on the ways in which Black and multiracial adoptees articulate their own identity experiences.

Sure, this is an important work. But it ain't stuffy. Mickenberg and Nel have created a book that fascinates and entertains. A must for any student of history or childrenas books.

--Lane Smith, author of John, Paul, George & Ben and illustrator of The Stinky Cheese Man

A rarely discussed aspect of children's literature — the politics behind, or part, of a book's creation — has been thoroughly explored in this intelligent, enlightening, and fascinating account. Even those who have spent a lifetime studying children's books will find incredible surprises, such as Walter Crane's Happy Valley or information about Lynd Ward's political activism. But the book is not merely a history; it is a very timely exploration of the appropriate inclusion of political/social content in children's books, and it provides examples of titles that succeed as literature and those in which politics overwhelm the story. Every academic and public library should own a copy; every children's literature professor needs to read it; all children's book enthusiasts will want to share it with their colleagues.

--Anita Silvey, author of 100 Best Books for Children

In 1912, a revolutionary chick cries Strike down the wall and liberates itself from the egg state. In 1940, ostriches pull their heads out of the sand and unite to fight fascism. In 1972, Baby X grows up without a gender and is happy about it.

Rather than teaching children to obey authority, to conform, or to seek redemption through prayer, twentieth-century leftists encouraged children to question the authority of those in power. Tales for Little Rebels collects forty-three mostly out-of-print stories, poems, comic strips, primers, and other texts for children that embody this radical tradition. These pieces reflect the concerns of twentieth-century leftist movements, like peace, civil rights, gender equality, environmental responsibility, and the dignity of labor. They also address the means of achieving these ideals, including taking collective action, developing critical thinking skills, and harnessing the liberating power of the imagination.

Some of the authors and illustrators are familiar, including Lucille Clifton, Syd Hoff, Langston Hughes, Walt Kelly, Norma Klein, Munro Leaf, Julius Lester, Eve Merriam, Charlotte Pomerantz, Carl Sandburg, and Dr. Seuss. Others are relatively unknown today, but their work deserves to be remembered. (Each of the pieces includes an introduction and a biographical sketch of the author.) From the anti-advertising message of Johnny Get Your Money's Worth (and Jane Too) (1938) to the entertaining lessons in ecology provided by The Day They Parachuted Cats on Borneo (1971), and Sandburg's mockery of war in Rootabaga Pigeons (1923), these pieces will thrill readers intrigued by politics, history, and anyone with a love of children's literature, no matter what age.

Julia L. Mickenberg is associate professor of American Studies, University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of Learning from the Left: Children's Literature, the Cold War, and Radical Politics in the United States.

Philip Nel is Professor of English and Director of Kansas State Universitys Program in Childrens Literature. His most recent books are Tales for Little Rebels (NYU Press, 2008, co-edited with Julia Mickenberg), The Annotated Cat (2007), and Dr. Seuss: American Icon (2004).