Children’s literature with a political message was once frowned upon, but now it’s everywhere, with authors writing about everything from eco-socialism to redistribution
This is discernible both in newly bold, explicit messages – from eco-socialism to trade unionism to racial diversity – and in the cast of characters, fore and background: a recent US study found that, in 2017, a quarter of kids’ protagonists were not white, up from 14% the year before. It’s not new, of course – Dr Seuss was speaking for the trees before anyone even believed in climate change (The Lorax, anyone?) – but it is everywhere.
I’m Australian Too, by Mem Fox, illustrations by Ronojoy Ghosh
A cheerful and stylised paean to multiculturalism, difference and openness, this is huge in Australia, arriving last year as the political mood around migration turned dark. Its message is pretty universal, though: celebrate difference because every human being is uniquely precious.
Article from The Guardian
