Children's Literature and the Politics of Equality.

Pinsent, P. (1997). Children's Literature and the Politics of Equality. New York, NY, Teachers College Press (188 pp, ISBN 0-8077-3680-5, $19.95).

Pinsent's book opens with an illustration from a nineteenth-century edition of Daniel Defoe s classic, Robinson Crusoe. The picture shows Robinson Crusoe's first meeting with the native islander whom he names "Friday." Crusoe is depicted as master of the situation, greeting the "savage" with aplomb as the islander approaches in a bowed stance, looking up at the white man in apparent apprehension. Presented in this context--at the beginning of a book on political equality and children's literature--the illustration and its caption form a striking representative of our cultural heritage of racism. This placement made me see the picture in a different way than if I had happened across it in an old copy of the novel, and I found myself imagining how the

African-American students in my classes feel when confronted with similar illustrations in library books checked out for pleasure or for required reading. I imagined their embarrassment and resentment at the obvious difference in the pictorial and literary presentation of the races. Pinsent's examination of bias in "classics" as well as in many contemporary children's books makes an important contribution to the ongoing controversy over the advisability of selecting books for children partly on the basis of their political (I would say ethical) implications.

Grounded in literary theory, teaching experience, and empirical research, Pinsent's thoughtful analysis of issues in the continuing argument over the politics represented in classic and contemporary literature takes into account factors that are often neglected, for example, children's reading skills and the circumstances under which books are read. Pinsent also recognizes that many books, Uncle Tom's Cabin for example, have conflicting values and contain both racist and anti-racist elements.

Many who are concerned about bias in children's literature focus exclusively on children's vulnerability in being at a formative stage in development of their identity and their concept of the world around them. That vulnerability forms the ground of Pinsent's concern, too. But Pinsent also recognizes the importance of children's reading skill level in children's ability to judge whether or not a book is biased. Books that make use of irony may be particularly challenging for children as they try to understand the theme of the book. (Even my college students sometimes take literally Jonathan Swift's proposal to have the poor eat their own babies in his ironic essay, "A Modest Proposal."). Children may take a character's statement as being represented as true even though a more sophisticated reader would understand that the context of the story discredits the character's statement. Children may not understand that authors also sometimes use unreliable narrators for artistic purposes. Many children are unaware of techniques writers use to shape readers' attitudes toward a character. Only when they have skills such as these can readers accurately interpret books which may portray prejudiced characters in developing a theme that is anti-racist. Pinsent makes clear that teachers and parents need to pay close attention to children's misreading of texts. In addition to a judicious use of books which takes into account children's reading skills, Pinsent argues that teachers and parents should provide a historical context for literary classics which portray characters in ways which are generally considered unacceptable in western society today.

This book's focus on children includes results of studies investigating various questions about what children like to read and how they respond to what they read. Some of these findings are based on a large survey conducted by the Roehampton Institute in London. Almost every chapter of the book includes information from this survey of more than 8,000 children between the ages of 4 and 16. Among the findings reported is the interesting, though not surprising, finding that most boys and girls 11 to 16 years old prefer horror fiction to any other type of fiction. (In view of this finding, I would like to have seen Pinsent discuss Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, which many gifted adolescents seem to enjoy.)

Pinsent does not recommend wholesale abandonment of classics such as Robinson Crusoe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Huckleberry Finn, Treasure Island or other novels which reflect the prejudices of their day. Instead, the author recommends informed caution in the selection of books, taking into account their political stance--which, as the author points out, all books have, whether that stance is explicit or only implicit--on race, gender, ethnicity, age, and disability as well as taking into account the difficulty level of the book in relation to the child's reading skills and the situation in which the book is to be used, e.g. to be read aloud by the teacher or as homework to be read without much classroom discussion and support.

Pinsent's analysis addresses the concerns of people who consider any attempts to revise the traditional literary canon as mere "political correctness." These concerns, typically based on a belief that books cannot be both true to life and "politically correct", and a belief that aesthetic quality is incompatible with political ends, are dispelled by Pinsent's examples of books which meet high aesthetic standards and which represent historically oppressed groups accurately and without bias. Moreover, the author makes clear that in many cases, particularly with books written in the past, there are both racist and anti-racist as well as sexist and anti-sexist elements woven throughout the text. The teacher's (or parent's) informing children about the historical and social context in which these books were written can, according to Pinsent, be more beneficial than simply restricting children's access to the books. Weighing carefully issues of ethics and of aesthetics through its investigation of classic and contemporary books read by children, the author makes a convincing case that realistic depictions and aesthetic quality are compatible with equitable representation of minorities in children's literature.

The author discusses many new books which combine literary merit, accuracy of representation, and respect for minorities. In addition, several lists of children's books which present minority group members are provided. I was happy to find some of my favorites in these lists--The Chimneys of Green Knowe, The Wheel on the School, The Witch's Brat, Sounder, The Snowy Day--as well as many new ones to read. These lists can be a real resource to parents and teachers of gifted children especially, since so many of bright children like to read and devour books at an incredible rate. Although Pinsent focuses primarily on works of fiction, the book includes a chapter on nonfiction books as well.

Children's Literature and the Politics of Equality advocates greater use of the many contemporary books which accurately and artistically depict diverse groups and cultures and much more judicious use of books which have artistic merit, but which threaten to promote prejudiced views. Of equal importance because parents and teachers cannot control all of the reading material that children come across, Pinsent makes a strong argument for teaching children to become skilled readers who can recognize subtle literary techniques and interpret sophisticated texts critically. It seems to me that these recommendations and the approaches Pinsent uses in analyzing books should be extended by parents and teachers to other art forms including film. In any case, Pinsent's discussion is likely to be interesting and valuable to anyone who understands the importance of books in children's lives.

Reviewed by Edwina Pendarvis, Professor of Gifted Education, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Roeper Review.