Animals as People in Children's Literature
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
JAN-LA2.QXD 12/2/2003 4:03 PM Page 205
Animals as People
in Children’s Literature
Books that use animals as people can add 205
Carolyn L. Burke
Joby G. Copenhaver emotional distance for the reader when the
Animals as People in Children’s Literature
story message is powerful or painful.
Ours is a highly literate culture,
making use of written texts to orga-
nize thought, to test beliefs, to
convey what is valued, and to at-
tempt to influence the actions and
thoughts of others. It is not surpris-
ing that for most of us, early child-
hood memories include a favorite
story. From among the many stories
that we have heard or had read to
us, there is often one that spoke
more directly to us than the others,
a story that touched an emotional
chord, somehow reflecting a keenly
felt need, concern, or set of values.
This story stays fresh and whole in
our minds. Hearing it revives old
experiences and feelings we may
have forgotten. We are able to
recreate, in detail, who we were,
what we were doing, the values and
beliefs that we were developing, and
how we were coming to relate to
others and to our world.
For Carolyn, that story is Little Red
Hen (Galdone, 1985). The industri-
ous mother and her chicks plant,
weed, and finally harvest their
wheat on their own when their
animal friends continually make ex-
cuses for their lack of help. However,
when the wheat is ground and baked
into bread, these same friends ea-
gerly volunteer to eat it. Then come
the words that spoke directly to a
young Puritan soul in development,
Copyright © 2004 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved.JAN-LA2.QXD 12/2/2003 4:03 PM Page 206
“No, I’ll do it myself.” This story and creatures would find a place in the tions (Gleick, 1987). There is no
its resolution confirmed Carolyn’s stories that we tell. And they do. pause button to life. Literature pro-
belief in the rewards of hard work, But when these animals begin to vides a device for grouping, organiz-
the need to take responsibility, and talk and scheme and learn to read, ing, and eliminating events and
the consequences that befall the we have gone past their intuitive in- placing them within structured pat-
slacker. Reading and re-reading this clusion in a replication of reality terns. The structures actually create
the meaning we come to give to the
events (Rosen, 1986; Wells, 1986).
206
Why do animals with human characteristics
• The preservation of our understand-
populate so many early childhood stories?
ings, knowledge and social beliefs.
What purpose do they serve?
Animals as People in Children’s Literature
Life is not only chaotic, but also
fleeting. Once having organized it
story became an ethical dialogue and have put them to use in a pur- into a meaningful interpretation,
and made conscious strongly felt but poseful distortion of reality. This use story structure allows us to remem-
amorphous beliefs that were devel- of anthropomorphism prompted the ber and consistently preserve our
oping out of everyday experiences question: Why do animals with decisions (Rosen, 1986).
and decisions. human characteristics populate so • Dialogue with ourselves and with
As teacher educators, we have regu- many early childhood stories? What others. The structures of story
larly asked our preservice language purpose do they serve? become an agreed upon social tool.
and literature students to use their To consider anthropomorphism in In this way, we can hold a mental
own childhood stories to reflect on children’s stories, we need to first discussion to reexamine decisions or
the power of literature. The majority clarify the basic functions of litera- converse with others concerning
of our students have formed a last- ture, and to explore the needs that what the relevant events and issues
ing bond with a story that seems to have propelled the use of anthropo- are, how they relate to each other,
mirror the world, as they have per- morphism in world cultures. Then and what impact this will have on
ceived it. The few who have no or we can come to see how the recog- our world (Vygotsky, 1986; Bahktin,
minimal conscious connections to nition of childhood and the emer- 1981). The structures then become
story express their longing for such gence of a literature for children the tools we need to make adjust-
experiences, sometimes going so far draw upon these sources. We make ments to our understanding.
as to describe a sense of emotional use of a series of anthropomorphic
impoverishment. stories to demonstrate how this • Generate questions and new life al-
device is used to introduce and deal ternatives. Life and the reexamina-
More recently, we have come to tion of our stories both bring new
notice yet another dimension of with new and controversial topics.
Finally, we consider the purposeful issues and questions to the fore
these early literacy experiences. This (Coles, 1989). Attempting to place
is the high frequency with which use of anthropomorphic stories in
the curriculum. these new issues within story
these personally significant stories structure has the potential to
involve animals possessing human
capabilities and characteristics. Ad-
THE FUNCTIONS OF LITERATURE generate solutions.
venturous pigs, wily wolves, stu- All forms of writing—imaginative, • Gain distance and transcend life
dious mice, and the like are the critical, scientific, and reporting—are threats. Sometimes we can say to a
central characters in a significant the tools of thought (Vygotsky, 1986) dangerous and powerful person or
number of the stories. As a thinking device, the functions institution, in story, what we would
of literature (Huck, Hepler, Hickman, be afraid to say directly (Bettleheim,
Most children are curious about and
& Kiefer, 2001; Hunt, 1995) seem to 1976). Sometimes we can dialogue
fond of animals. Many of us share
have remained consistent through with ourselves, in story, about some-
our homes and our hearts with our
time, for both adults and children, thing that we find so frightening or
pets. Certainly our local environ-
and include the following: so debilitating that we cannot face
ments, whether we live in a city, a
it directly.
suburb, or the country, are filled • The need to make sense of our lives
with a vast variety of animals both and of the world. Life is actually • Savor and reflect on experience.
large and small. So, it would seem chaotic with multiple and discon- Living through an experience does
rather intuitive that these same nected events, decisions, and reac- not guarantee that we understand it.
Language Arts, Vol. 81 No. 3, January 2004JAN-LA2.QXD 12/2/2003 4:03 PM Page 207
The ability to first organize and then sometimes feel the need to read a man in the moon, assign people’s
to reexamine opens the door to re- some stories again and again. names to life-threatening storms,
flection. Not only do we come to un- Now, how do animals come to play and watch our investments in bull
derstand, but we also come to so significant a role in this process? and bear markets.
understand with more depth and How does the use of anthropomor- Aesop shared a personal philoso-
breadth (Bruner, 1994). Reflection phism advance these needs? phy through his animal fables, of-
brings intellectual flexibility. fering one view of the human
• Simplify and clarify a life circum- THE PROCESS OF condition and advice on the con-
207
stance. All events are not relevant to duct of social exchange. So basic
ANTHROPOMORPHISM
or of equal value in understanding a and so powerful are his interpreta-
Simply put, anthropomorphism in- tions of life that many of his tales
Animals as People in Children’s Literature
life circumstance. Story structure
provides the tools for deciding what volves assigning a human trait to an have now been retold for children
gets discarded in formulating deci- animal or object. Transmogrification, (e.g., McClintock. 2000).
sions (Coles, 1989). You can’t solve a people morphing into animals, is a In Animal Farm, George Orwell
puzzle when you are working with special case of anthropomorphism. (1996) presented a costumed version
too many pieces. This process has a long and respected of the promise and betrayal of the
history in many world cultures.
• Formulate a plan to act on the world. Russian Revolution set in a barn-
One anthropologist, Stewart yard. And of course, we have Planet
Reflection allows us to make deci-
Guthrie (1993), actually argues of the Apes (Boule, 1963) and sci-
sions in the face of uncertainty and
that all religions are systematic ence fiction as examples of the use
to know that if a first decision does
anthropomorphism—attributing of anthropomorphism in dealing
not work, there are already processed
human characteristics to non-human with adult issues.
alternatives that can be tried (Dewey,
things and events. He goes on to ex-
1938). Life is uncertain; things are Political cartoonists have learned
plain that we live in an ambiguous
not always clearly right or wrong. this lesson well. A check of any
world and our survival depends on
The act of storying provides potential newspaper’s editorial pages will no
workable alternatives to the issues doubt show a world globe with
that we face. Being aware that we Anthropomorphism arms, legs, and a voice; a political
have and can generate alternative involves assigning a party led by a pachyderm; or the
responses provides the impetus economy flat on its back in a hospi-
needed to take action. human trait to an tal bed receiving a transfusion.
• Provide momentary escape from the
animal or object. When the political, religious, social,
or personal risks are high, when we
current situation. Sometimes we just
our ability to interpret it. Recogniz- are standing close to the metaphoric
need a break from our own issues
ing people, where they exist, be- fire, the use of animals has long pro-
and problems. Reading someone
comes critical to our survival and to vided intellectual and psychological
else’s story can provide that relief.
our success. Visualizing the world as distance and allowed us to critically
We can relax for the time being and
humanlike becomes a good bet. We explore that which we would not be
let someone else organize. Just
organize our predictions to increase comfortable exploring directly.
maybe, we might come across an
our potential to recognize what is of Operating under the same premise,
idea or a structure that can actually
most importance to us. In this way, many early peoples generated their
be applied to our current problem
our successes will have pay-offs and creation stories through the use of
(Rosenblatt, 1938). At the least, we
our failures will not be as costly. anthropomorphism. Many children’s
will come away from the experience
reminded that we are not the only Anthropomorphism permeates the stories are versions of these creation
person who faces constant decisions. adult world. When the risks and re- tales. The Raven: A Trickster Tale
wards are high, when the signs are from the Pacific Northwest (McDer-
With the exception of the final ambiguous, when we are up against mott, 1993) tells of a time when
function, these are life-determining powerful forces, we envision human people lived in darkness. Raven is
and life-altering needs. We are in intents and actions cloaked in the sad for them and decides to search
search of answers and strategies shapes of objects and animals, and for light. Finding it in the Sky
crucial to our well-being. This list we act accordingly. Intuitively then, Chief’s house, he proceeds through
offers an explanation for why we we begin to see faces in the clouds, a series of tricks, which includeJAN-LA2.QXD 12/2/2003 4:03 PM Page 208
transforming himself into a boy of children in society. The emerging What will Mamma and Nursey do?”
child, to steal the sun. Quickly view declared that children needed Their tears ran down their cheeks so fast;
transforming back into a raven, he extended time to develop before They made a little pond at last.
flies back to the people and offers they would be able to take on the
The young reader learns the lesson:
them the sun to light their world. full responsibilities of adulthood.
“Do not play with matches.” But
If anthropomorphism has been an They needed guidance and instruc-
more important, she learns the price
instrument of adult literacy for a tion to maintain their safety and to
one pays for disobedience to one’s
long period of history, then how allow them to grow into full mem-
parents, however foolish those par-
208 and when did we come to make use bership in society. Play came to be
ents might be. In the end, it’s the
of this potent and powerful tool in viewed as child’s work during which
cats’ tears and sad song that elicit
children’s literature? they were discovering and practic-
Animals as People in Children’s Literature
the strong emotional response from
ing lessons, and pleasure came to be
the reader, thereby demonstrating
seen as an enticement in this pro-
THE DEVELOPMENT cess. To heighten that enticement,
that even one transgression could
OF ANTHROPOMORPHISM be not only dreadful, but fatal.
animals with human characteristics
IN CHILDREN’S LITERATURE began to appear in children’s books. In this book, children are presented
Examining two books significant to as passive beings, totally dependent
The first books generally agreed on their parents to keep them in line.
Joby’s childhood can give us an
upon by contemporary scholars to When left to themselves, they make
idea of how the early transition into
fit the definition of children’s litera- the wrong decisions. Their impulses
a concern for childhood was han-
ture were published in the 1740s, are self-destructive. The mothers and
dled and how two authors used
with the introduction of The Pretty nannies knew that children had to be
talking animals to speak directly to
Little Pocket Book Intended for the told what to do, no questions asked.
everyday needs and concerns. The
Instruction and Amusement of Little Only the cats were “human” enough
first is the 1845 Struwwelpeter by
Master Tommy and Pretty Miss to reason why. From repeated en-
Heinrick Hoffman (1845/1995) and
Polly by John Newbery in England counters with this book, Joby not
the other the 1940 The Rabbits’ Re-
(Nodelman & Reimer, 2003) The only learned to value neatness,
venge by Kurt Weise.
intent to amuse as well as to in- cleanliness, and quiet good manners,
struct children signaled the emer- Struwwelpeter (or Slovenly Peter) is a but she became so rule-bound that
gence of a revised cultural series of silly stories intended to she often hesitated to take indepen-
recognition of children and child- amuse those children who, unlike the dent action, and relied, instead, upon
hood, and with that, an interest in characters in the book, are “Good at her mother to make decisions for her.
finding ways to give children plea- meal times, good at play. Good all
Struwwelpeter is representative of a
sure as they were being instructed. night and good all day.” Most memo-
transition point in adults’ perception
Before the mid-eighteenth century, rable to Joby was “The Dreadful
of childhood. It was during this
the notion of childhood, as we know Story about Little Paula and the
period that Froedrich Froebel was
it now, did not exist. Children were Matches.” It takes place in an un-
constructing a first social vision of
dressed in the adult clothes of their likely situation where Mamma and
childhood, inventing kindergarten as
social class soon after they left their Nurse go out for the day, leaving
a vehicle for delivering moral mes-
cradles. They were treated as “short little Paula alone with a box of
sages, but now with a benevolent
adults” with responsibilities and with matches on the table and the warning
tone. Up to this time, most works
productivity demanded to the limits that if she touches those matches, she
available to children were dry peda-
of their physical capabilities. Without is sure to get a good scolding. Two
gogic books. Heinrich Hoffmann, the
protection from the hardships of the cats explain to Little Paula that
author of Struwwelpeter, was a
work-a-day-world, children had few matches are dangerous; if she plays
physician and director of a progres-
rights, privileges, or entitlements to with them, she will burn to death.
sive mental hospital in Frankfort.
happiness of their own. Little Paula lights a match and
From his work, he felt it necessary to
catches on fire, leaving only smoking
As a middle or merchant class de- soothe the deep anxiety he had seen
ashes and her little red shoes.
veloped, every person was no longer among his child patients. He believed
needed to work at providing the And when the good cats sat beside that children would find humor in
family income. With leisure came The smoking ashes, how they cried! the exaggeratedly gruesome conse-
the opportunity to recreate the place “Me-ow, me-ooo, me-ow, me-ooo quences of misbehavior. In at least
Language Arts, Vol. 81 No. 3, January 2004JAN-LA2.QXD 12/2/2003 4:03 PM Page 209
Books That Feature Animals Who Act Like People
Alborough, Jez. Captain Duck. (HarperCollins, 2003). Hobbie, Holly. Toot & Puddle: Top of the World. (Little,
Captain Duck takes over Goat’s boat with hilarious Brown, 2002). When Toot goes off on a walk and doesn’t
results. come back, Puddle sets out to find him.
Bryan, Ashley. Beautiful Blackbird. (Atheneum, 2003). Lester, Helen. Tackylocks and the Three Bears. Illus.
209
An adaptation of story from the Ila-speaking people of L. Munsinger. (Houghton Mifflin, 2003). Tacky the pen-
Rhodesia tells how the colorful birds of Africa ask guin has the starring role of Goldilocks in a play.
Animals as People in Children’s Literature
Blackbird to decorate them with black highlights. Reiche. Dietlof. I, Freddy: Book One in the Golden Ham-
Falconer, Ian. Olivia. (Atheneum, 2000). Olivia, a pig, is ster Saga. Illus. J. Cepeda. Translator, J. Brownjohn.
very much like many children with high energy and a (Scholastic, 2003). Freddy, an unusual hamster, learns
great enthusiasm for life. how to read and write messages on a word processor.
Hartman, Bob. The Wolf Who Cried Boy. Illus. T. Raglin. Rylant, Cynthia. Thimbleberry Stories. Illus. M. Kneen.
(Putnam, 2002). A young wolf tricks his parents into (Harcourt, 2000). Four short stories chronicle the
thinking there is a boy in the woods who would make a lives of the creatures on Thimbleberry Lane.
delicious feast. Wells, Rosemary. Timothy Goes to School. (Viking,
Henkes, Kevin. Wemberly Worried. (Greenwillow, 2000). 2000). Timothy, a well-dressed raccoon, discovers
Wemberly, a young mouse, worries about everything, how to make friends and be accepted.
especially starting school. —Marilyn Carpenter
three of the tales, Hoffman depicts from the beaver’s dam to the cabin again and again. He would be Old
animals giving lessons. Hoffman has where Old Man Shivers lives. Rain Man Shivers. Between the times he
fish that tease a boy for not paying Man obligingly fills the pond with would read it to me, I wore the cover
attention and a rabbit that hunts rain, the beaver opens the dam, and off reading it to myself in the same
humans. Hoffman depended on his water rushes through the tunnel to shivery voice my father used. I’d study
exaggerated story lines, funny illus- wash the cabin down the river. Old the final illustration of Old Man Shiv-
trations, and some use of anthropo- Man Shivers, clinging to his roof, is ers, defeated by the rabbits. And I was
morphic beings to teach with humor. rescued when the townspeople toss relieved that the rabbits would be safe,
and Old Man Shivers would be warm.
Indeed, the title of the first edition of him a rope from the bridge above.
Struwwelpeter in 1845 was Merry They suggest he get a suit of rabbits’ Hearing this story about a hunter
Stories and Funny Pictures. fur, but Old Man Shivers says he going out to kill innocent rabbits,
Another childhood book, written doesn’t want to have anything to do read by a well-loved father who
almost 100 years later, that had a with rabbits; he’d rather have a also hunted (for food), brought tears
powerful impact upon Joby is Kurt woolen suit. and conflict. On one hand, the very
Weise’s The Rabbits’ Revenge (1940). Joby struggled with this story: idea of hunting would continue to
Here again is an example of how On the one hand, I’d shed many a tear be abhorrent to the young animal
anthropomorphism is the medium by over the fact that my dad went on lover, and on the other hand, the
which issues are presented. Old Man hunting trips; I couldn’t believe he poor old man did need to have
Shivers, fed up with being cold, de- would actually shoot animals. But warm clothes. It was easy to argue
cides he needs a suit of rabbits’ fur then, I felt very sorry for poor Old both sides of the issue, but seem-
and sets out to shoot every rabbit in Man Shivers. Certainly, I didn’t want ingly impossible to reach a settle-
the world. The rabbits make plans to my father to be the object of the rab- ment. Because Old Man Shivers
stop him. Following directions from bits’ revenge. Furthermore, I loved it changed his mind, and the rabbits
their friend, Crow, they dig a tunnel when Daddy read the story again and found a peaceful and clever solutionJAN-LA2.QXD 12/2/2003 4:03 PM Page 210
to the problem, the author provided dren’s literature, it could be enlisted responsibilities. You might note
some temporary resolution to the to instruct on topics and issues of that as new topics emerge, they do
issue. Reading the book helped ar- knowledge and social belief. The not tend to displace those already
ticulate a position in which hunting talking, thinking, acting animals established, but simply add to the
for survival could be seen as fair, could provide for children what richness of the messages being
while hunting for fun or killing out they were already providing for conveyed to our young.
of anger was wrong. their adult mentors—a buffered en- At the same time that established
The Rabbits’ Revenge allowed a pre- gagement with a message of cul- topics continue to flourish, they also
210 school child to enter into a conver- tural significance. The lively evolve in synchronicity with our
sation with her father about an animals would soften the didactic changing views of the meaning and
issue important to both. By giving tone and ease the tensions raised by needs of childhood. Carolyn’s fa-
Animals as People in Children’s Literature
dealing with issues not yet fully re- vorite book, Little Red Hen, is a fine
solved or socially controversial. example of this process. The social
Books can have a more
Because children’s literature is a pri- rules are still being taught by ob-
powerful impact on a mary device used to inculcate and serving someone who violates them,
child than is socialize, an examination of popular but the characters tend to live to
topics and story lines reveals trends profit from their lessons.
sometimes imagined. in cultural beliefs and changing at- This category is filled with those
titudes about children’s roles in so- stories we think of as classic—The
the rabbits the capacity to act with ciety. We attempt, with the use of a Three Bears and Little Red Riding
human reasoning, it was possible few examples, to demonstrate what Hood—but that have been constantly
for Joby to reflect on hunting from this phenomenon is like. and prolifically added to over the
the perspective of the hunter as well Our timeline starts in 1840 in Eng- years. Think of the popularity of
as the hunted. Years later, in revisit- land and Europe with the establish- The Berenstain Bears series.
ing the book with a more experi- ment of a middle class and the Power versus Weakness. The topic of
enced adult mind, Joby could argue social invention of childhood. Fi- “Power versus Weakness” was one
nature is opposed to hunting when nancial security might have gained of the key messages of the creation
the purpose is to annihilate a some children freedom from daily tales from many cultures and prob-
species. Still later, other lessons ma- work, but it did not immediately ably was the determining factor in
terialize. For example, we can now alter adults’ opinions that the chil- translating so many of these cul-
see that animals, and even the rain dren should be passive receivers of tural myths from their adult ver-
man, are much more fragile than needed instruction. sions to children’s literature. They
portrayed in Weise’s work.
Struwwelpeter represents the first are prescientific attempts to under-
Books can have a more powerful attempts to add a touch of humor to stand a powerful and chaotic world.
impact on a child than is sometimes the didactic messages that were As such, they translate well into
imagined, and that impact can last a being conveyed in children’s books. children’s stories and highlight the
lifetime. Those lessons learned earli- From the distance of over 160 years, weak (child) triumphing over the
est are the most difficult to alter. We we might see these tales as harsh strong (adult) through trickery.
need to stop thinking about chil- and heavy-handed. But people of
dren’s books as child’s play and ac- the time appreciated both the exag- • Gerald McDermott’s The Raven (1993)
knowledge that the body of gerated art and humorous messages and fables like Aesop’s speak directly
children’s literature reflects con- as a relief from the straightforward to children’s first explorations of the
tentious issues that reside at the harangues that usually conveyed natural world and of their weak posi-
core of our culture. Children deal social messages. It could be said tion in relationship to adults.
with these issues seriously through that the key topic of the time was,
their reading and learning. Personal Relationships, the School
“Thou Shalt Not.” Experience, and Animal Rights. These
ANTHROPOMORPHISM: TRENDS, Morals and Responsibilities. The topics in children’s books deal with
primary message morphed over issues on which a culture is doing
TOPICS, AND ISSUES time as concepts of childhood de- some re-thinking and testing out of
Once the construct of anthropomor- veloped and evolved, but the main new positions, so the books present
phism had been extended to chil- message was still about morals and potential alternative perspectives.
Language Arts, Vol. 81 No. 3, January 2004JAN-LA2.QXD 12/2/2003 4:03 PM Page 211
more openness with children about
1840 Reality is harsh. Adults need to take a didactic stance in instructing the social and cultural debates of
children to take their appropriate place in society. “Thou Shalt Not” our time and admitting that adults
is the message. do not always have the answers.
• Morals & Responsibilities Not all parents and teachers are
equally comfortable exposing their
• Power vs. Weakness confusions and conflicts to children.
Nor do we find it easy to be faced
• Personal relationships with a child who has joined the 211
• The School Experience debate and elected to hold a posi-
• Animal Rights tion different from our own. The
Animals as People in Children’s Literature
discomfort is so great at times that
• Race & Social Class individuals and groups sometimes
• Ecology support book banning.
• Respecting Difference • Anthony Browne’s Voices in the Park
• Feminist Issues (1998). Issues of social class surface
• War when two families, characterized by
guerrillas with human personalities,
• Gay Rights use the park and encounter each
• Gangs other. The encounters are interpreted
• Drugs differently by the parent and child of
2003 Children are active, lifelong learners who need to adapt, contribute each family. The two children, with
to change, and to critically explore issues and options. their pets, are more open to and ac-
cepting of difference, while the two
Figure 1. Timeline: Trends, topics, and issues concerning parents are more narrow-minded
the use of anthropomorphism in children’s literature and set in their views.
• Eric Carle’s “Slowly Slowly,” Said the
Sloth (2002). A concern for the use
• Mem Fox’s Koala Lou (1992). A little bilities. They resolve that the mice and abuse of the Earth underpins the
koala comes in second in the Bush can live in the home and that she message in this tale. Sloth does not
Olympics and her faith in herself will pay by telling stories to the boy. command the respect of the other
falters. Mom’s hug and her refrain, Compare this exploration of the animals who constantly ask him,
“Koala Lou, I DO love you!” provide competing rights between people “Why are you so . . . slow, quiet,
the needed reassurance. Being and the animal world with how that boring?” His answer, “I am just how I
second, or simply being in the race, same topic was handled in Joby’s fa- am. I do things slowly, slowly, slowly.”
is success. vorite story, The Rabbits’ Revenge.
Increasingly, personal and social
• Becky Bloom’s Wolf (1999). A fierce It seems that the amazing number variations of all kinds are being
vagabond wolf encounters a pig, a of early childhood books dealing discussed and examined. There is a
duck, and a cow that entertain them- with literacy, success in school, test- tension between being open and
selves by reading. When he fails to ing, and the reading/writing process accepting and being discomforted
frighten them, the wolf decides to are as much vehicles for concerned and fearful of what is different
learn to read. Wolf and the three adults to formulate, clarify, and ad- and unfamiliar.
other literate animals decide to travel vance their own positions as they
• Janell Cannon’s Crickwing (2002). A
and read to the people they meet. are intended to open the debate to
cockroach, Crickwing, is different in
the young readers.
• Sheree Fitch’s There’s a Mouse in the two ways—he is disabled after rough
House (1999). A boy finds a mouse Race and Social Class, Ecology, encounters by other animals, and he
and determines that he should kill it. Respecting Difference, Feminist is an artist, unique in his love for
The mouse asks for three wishes, one Issues, and War. This set of topics is color and sculpting. When Crickwing
of which is to tell her story. The boy increasingly open to controversy meets the smaller leaf ants, he
learns that she, like he, has responsi- and to heated debate, reflecting treats them poorly, as bigger animalsJAN-LA2.QXD 12/2/2003 4:03 PM Page 212
have treated him. The queen ant disruption of our culture from inter- new issues and concerns emerge
arranges for Crickwing to be the nal forces. They raise the fear that and are added to the list of topics.
annual payment the leaf ants are by introducing an issue, we might Sometimes a new message and a
obligated to offer to the army ants. actually be encouraging children to new interest hijack a classic story,
The worker leaf ants set him free experiment. These are also issues like The Three Little Pigs.
and Crickwing uses his artistic tal- with which many of us are most un-
• Teresa Celsi’s The Fourth Little Pig
ents to save the leaf ants from the comfortable and where we might be
(1992). The three pigs have a sister
army ants. aware of a difference between our
who has been traveling around the
212 intellectual positions and our gut re-
• Anthony Browne’s Piggybook (1998). world. The Fourth Little Pig visits and
actions. Maybe this is why Elmer, in
Feminist issues are examined when a finds her brothers cowering in their
The Sissy Duckling (Fierstein, 2000),
Animals as People in Children’s Literature
father and two sons make constant house of bricks, terrified to go out
is called a sissy, but never gay.
demands of the mother, showing her lest the big bad wolf get them. She
no consideration. Gradually pig faces • Harvey Fierstein’s The Sissy Duckling blows down their house, councils
begin to emerge in the décor of the (2000). Elmer is not like the other them in the face of real but control-
home. Then, one day mother is gone, boy ducks; he likes to bake and to lable dangers, and continues her ex-
leaving only a note. Father and sons put on plays. When a hunter shoots ploration of the world.
have fully evolved into pigs by this and wounds his father, Elmer carries
In each of these books, the basic
time. After the house falls into a his father to safety and nurses his
principles hold, and we deal with
total mess, the three males start to father through the cold northern
issues of deep and lasting cultural
learn to do things for themselves. winter. In the spring, the returning
significance, letting the animals try
out our roles for us. We let them
The intellectual and emotional distance take the risks and absorb the pun-
that the animals’ role-playing allows children and ishments when plans fail or solu-
tions fall through. The intellectual
their mentoring adults grants space in which and emotional distance that the ani-
to become reflective and critical concerning mals’ role-playing allows children
and their mentoring adults grants
life problems and life choices.
space in which to become reflective
and critical concerning life prob-
When mom returns, she gets respect flock assumes he and his father have
lems and life choices.
and some help with the work. died. His father tells what Harvey
• Mem Fox’s Feathers and Fools did, and the sissy becomes a hero. PUTTING THE ANIMALS TO
(1996). Children’s consideration of • Willy the Wimp by Anthony Browne WORK IN THE CURRICULUM
war and its underlying causes are (1989). A breakdown in the fabric of We have attempted to establish that
considered through a pride of pea- our society is considered when Willy, anthropomorphism is a device that
cocks and a flock of swans living in who is gentle and considerate, be- has been used over time and across
a garden. The members of each comes the butt of the suburban cultures, and have offered examples
group focus on the other group’s dif- chimpanzee gang. The gang gives to demonstrate that authors of chil-
ferences and begin to see the other him the nickname, “Willy the Wimp.” dren’s literature have made extensive
group as aggressive, so they both So, when an ad for a body-building use of this device to open a dialogue
start planning defenses against program appears, Willy jogs, takes with their readers. Much of this use
attack. Panic starts the war in which aerobics, boxes, lifts weights, and has been intuitive. Reflective use in
all of the birds are killed. However, goes on a special diet. Following his our classrooms could increase both
two eggs remain unbroken, and from physical transformation, Willy meets the power and control learners can
them hatch a peacock and a swan. the gang on the street in the process exert over their experiences.
On seeing each other, they remark of attacking a young lady. He scares
When a life or imaginary incident is
on how alike they are and the two them away and becomes the young
turned into a story, a single instance
birds join forces as friends. lady’s hero.
is transformed into a generalization
Gay Rights, Gangs, and Drugs. This Topic Change, Topic Stability. Some that becomes available to be applied
last set of topics opens up considera- topics and messages have a long life by all who encounter it. Storying,
tion of the potential change and/or and become classics. All the while, both factual and fictional, becomes
Language Arts, Vol. 81 No. 3, January 2004JAN-LA2.QXD 12/2/2003 4:03 PM Page 213
the basis for all informal and formal Celsi, T. (1992). The fourth little pig. Illus. D. Dyson, A., & Genishi, C. (Eds.). (1994). The
education (Graves, 1989). Anthropo- Cushman. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn. need for story: Cultural diversity in class-
morphism, animal characters as Fierstein, H. (2000). The sissy duckling. New room and community. Urbana, IL: Na-
York:Simon & Schuster. tional Council of Teachers of English.
people, can add a degree of emo-
tional distance for the reader/writer/ Fitch, S. (1999). There’s a mouse in the Gleick, J. (1987). Chaos: Making a new sci-
house. New York: Firefly. ence. New York: Viking Penguin.
speaker when the story message
Graves, D. H. (1989). Experiment with fiction:
is very powerful, personal, and Fox, M. (1992). Koala Lou. New York: Trumpet.
The reading/writing teacher’s companion.
painful. We most need to read Fox, M. (1996). Feathers and fools. San Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
about, write about, and talk about Diego: Harcourt Brace. 213
Guthrie, S. (1993). Faces in the clouds: A new
those things that are personally Galdone, P. (1985). Little red hen. New York: theory of religion. London: Oxford Univer-
painful, embarrassing, and danger- Houghton Mifflin. sity Press.
Animals as People in Children’s Literature
ous to us. Having animals do the Hoffman, H. (1995). Struwwelpeter. New Huck, C., Hepler, S., Hickman, J., Kiefer, B.
acting and mistake-making allows York: Dover. (Original work published (2001). Children’s literature in the ele-
the face-saving emotional distance 1845) mentary school (7th ed.). New York:
often needed to be able to join the McClintock, B. (2000). Animal fables from McGraw Hill.
conversation (Applebee, 1978; Aesop. New York: Godine. Hunt, P. (1995). Children’s literature: an
Dyson & Genishi, 1994). McDermott, G. (1993). The raven: A trickster illustrated history. Oxford: Oxford Uni-
tale from the Pacific Northwest. New versity Press.
Both a democratic society and the
York: Scholastic. Nodelman, P., & Reimer, M. (2003). The
informational culture in which we
Wiese, K. (1940). The rabbits’ revenge. New pleasures of children’s literature (3rd ed.).
live demand an active, contri- Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
York: Coward-McCann.
buting, and critical citizenry.
Orwell, G. (1996). Animal farm. New York:
Education is no longer seen as Signet Classic.
controlling factual memory, but as References
Rosen, H. (1986). Stories and meanings.
the ability to imagine, create, and Applebee, A. (1978). The child’s concept of London: National Association for the
act. The more we place value on story: Ages two to seventeen. Chicago: Teaching of English.
supporting learners as independent, The University of Chicago Press.
Rosenblatt, L. M. (1938). Literature as explo-
critical, and flexible, the greater Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogic imagina- ration. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts.
the value we will place on litera- tion. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and lan-
ture and its devices. Bettelheim, B. (1976). The uses of enchant- guage. Cambridge: MIT Press.
ment. New York: Knopf.
Wells, G. (1986). The meaning makers. Ports-
Children’s Books Cited Boule, P. (1963). Planet of the apes. New mouth, NH: Heinemann.
York: Vanguard.
Bloom, B. (1999). Wolf. New York: Orchard.
Bruner, J. (1994). Life as narrative. In
Browne, A. (1989). Willie the wimp. New
A. Dyson & C. Genishi (Eds.). The need
York: Knopf.
for story: Cultural diversity in class-
Browne, A. (1990). Piggybook. New York: room and community, (p. 28–37). Author Biographies
Knopf. Urbana, IL: National Council of
Browne, A. (1998). Voices in the park. New Teachers of English. Carolyn L. Burke is a retired professor
York: DK. Coles, R., (1989). The call of stories: Teaching of education, Indiana University. Joby
Cannon, J. (2002). Crickwing. New York: and the moral imagination. Boston: Ganzauge Copenhaver is a lecturer in
Scholastic. Houghton Mifflin. reading and literacy education, State Uni-
Carle, E. (2002). “Slowly, slowly,” said the Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. versity of New York at Geneseo, New York.
sloth. New York: Philomel. New York: Collier.You can also read
