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Published by The New Press, 1995, softcover, condition: as new.
In provocative and entertaining essays [that] will appeal to reflective readers, parents, and educators (Library Journal), one of the countrys foremost education writers looks at the stories we tell our children. Available now in a revised edition, including a new essay on the importance of stoop-sitting and storytelling, Should We Burn Babar? challenges some of the chestnuts of childrens literature. Highlighting instances of racism, sexism, and condescension that detract from the tales being told, Kohl provides strategies for detecting bias in stories written for young people and suggests ways to teach kids to think critically about what they read.
Beginning with the title essay on Babar the elephantjust one of a fine series of inquiries into the power childrens books have to shape cultural attitudes, according to Elliott Bay Booknotesthe book includes essays on Pinocchio, the history of progressive education, and a call for the writing of more radical childrens literature. As the Hungry Mind Review concluded, Kohls prescriptions for renewing our schools through the use of stories and storytelling are impassioned, well-reasoned, and readable.
Herbert Kohl is a celebrated writer, teacher, and advocate. He is the author of more than forty books, including I Wont Learn from You: And Other Thoughts on Creative Maladjustment, Should We Burn Babar?: Essays on Childrens Literature and the Power of Stories, The Discipline of Hope: Learning from a Lifetime of Teaching, Stupidity and Tears: Teaching and Learning in Troubled Times, She Would Not Be Moved: How We Tell the Story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and The Herb Kohl Reader: Awakening the Heart of Teaching (all published by The New Press), as well as the bestselling classic 36 Children. He is a co-author, with Judith Kohl, of The View from the Oak: The Private Worlds of Other Creatures and a co-editor, with Tom Oppenheim, of The Muses Go to School: Inspiring Stories About the Importance of Arts in Education, both published by The New Press. A recipient of a National Book Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, he was the founder and first director of the Teachers and Writers Collaborative in New York City, has served as a senior fellow at the Open Society Institute, and established the PEN West Center. In 2010, Kohl was named a Guggenheim Fellow in education.