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

It got here super fast so A+ for that.This isn't a children's book. It's more like an adult book and you can read little short vignettes to the kids. And yes, it's about as radical as they come; a bit more Bolshevik socialism than I expected. I expected a bit more child-friendly literature but it's kind of like the original Grimm's fairy tales, unfiltered. So, be prepared for that.

Your children will thank you, your grandchildren will thank you, and every generation to come. Goodbye Barbie Goes to Disneyland, and whatever junk the kids are reading right now, read your children literature that will make them laugh while it makes them think! Joyful, thought-provoking, meaningful, downright silly, hints of a message here or there, or outright anarchy, why not? Wake 'em up from Barney and My Little Pony and show them what fun it can be to really read! The illustrations are a joy, the stories are timeless and will follow your family throughout generations to come.

Great book. Definitely for older kid readers, but also good for grownups.

The stories were interesting and the editor's notes showed how relevant these mostly out of print stories are to today's issues. A great resource and entertaining book for children of all ages.

I was a little disappointed in the content of this book. I was looking for information that younger students could relate to while studying Eastern Europe post WWII. There is a little of that, but it overlaps with stories about civil rights, women's rights, and migrant workers to name a few.

TALES FOR LITTLE REBELS: A COLLECTION OF RADICAL CHILDREN'S LITERATURE took me by surprise, twice. At first, I thought the book was going to be filled with funny cartoons and stuff like that...but when I got it, it was knee-deep with analysis. Thinking I made a mistake, and flashing back on my college years, I begrudgingly forced myself to start reading.And what I found was my second surprise: it was interesting! Yes there was some semiotics involved, but the editors Julia L. Mickenberg and Philip Nel did an excellent job of compiling the book and explaining things in simple to understand language.It's broken down by themes, i.e. rebellion, organization, justice etc., and each theme has an introduction that helps the reader understand what was going on at the time when these stories were published. This is followed by information regarding the author and illustrator of the piece (if known), followed by the actual story.All of the works are from the 20th century and many are taken from Socialist, Marxist and Communist papers or books. Likewise, many of the writers and illustrators were part of either the Communist or Socialist movements and many turned to children's stories because those stories weren't heavily scrutinized by the censors. And for many it was the only job they could find after being blacklisted during the McCarthy era.The editors did a fair job in presenting the reasons many of these authors and illustrators/artists turned to Socialism etc. because of a reaction toward unfair labor practices and living conditions that affected adults and children alike.Stories consist of either cartoons, comics, text-only stories, and stories with photos (that seemed to be from school books), and were taken from a variety of sources, so there's a pretty broad mix here. And some stories are quite obvious in their propagandist tone, while others are very subtle.There are also stories about the environment, race relations, gender equality and peace.Would I recommend this book to kids? Not necessarily. But I would suggest that parents get it, read it, and then read the stories to their children. As the editors pointed out in the introduction that the purpose for collecting and re-printing many of these stories is not to influence young minds to either side of the coin, but to help them begin to critically analyze the world around them.With so much going on in our world today, young people could use all the help they can get.

This fascinating book looks at politics and history through selections from children's literature. The pieces include poems, comic strips, stories and excerpts from schoolbooks, many illustrated with black and white illustrations. The book focuses on writing for children that includes left-leaning political ideology. Some of the writing espouses socialism; other pieces are about equality of the races and sexes. Much is very clunky and weighted down with obvious social meaning. Other pieces soar. Dr. Seuss's  The Sneetches , about "star-bellied sneetches, the best on the beaches" and "plain-bellied sneetches, with no stars upon thars" is a classic tale of bigotry. Included here is the original Redbook magazine version of The Sneetches, before it was a book.Tales for Little Rebels is not a book for children, although smart teenagers will appreciate it. It's a scholarly look at how politics shows up in children's literature.The 43 mostly out-of-print selections each have an introduction and biography of the author.Here's the chapter list:Part One: R is for Rebel1. Excerpt from The Socialist Primer: A Book of First Lessons for the Little Ones in Words of One Syllable (1908)2. Excerpt from The Socialist Primer (1930)3. Excerpt from Pioneer Mother Goose (1934)4. A B C for Martin (1935)5. Excerpt from The Black BC's (1970)Part Two: Subversive Science and Dramas of Ecology6. Excerpt from Nature Talks on Economics (1912)7. Excerpts from Science and History for Girls and Boys (1932)8. The Races of Mankind (1945)9. The Day They Parachuted Cats on Borneo: A Drama of Ecology (1971)10. Red Ribbons for Emma (1981)Part Three: Work, Workers, and Money11. Sharecroppers (1937)12. Excerpt from Johnny Get Your Money's Worth (And Jane, Too!) (1938)13. The Story of Your Coat (1946)14. The Little Tailor (1955)15. Girls Can Be Anything (1973)Part Four: Organize16. Happy Valley (1907)17. Battle in the Barnyard (1932)18. Pickets and Slippery Slicks (1935)19. The Beavers (1936)20. Mary Stays After School or -- What This Union's About (1939)21. Mr. His: A Children's Story for Anybody (1939)22. Oscar the Ostrich (1940)23. Doria Ramirez (1970)Part Five: Imagine24. Why? (1925)25. Excerpt from Funnybone Alley (1927)26. The Teacup Whale (1934)27. A Little Hen Goes to Brownsville (1937)28. The Practical Princess (1969)Part Six: History and Heroes29. American History Retold in Pictures (1931)30. Excerpt from North Star Shining: A Pictorial History of the American Negro (1947)31. Stories for Children (1950-55)32. Lucretia Mott (1968)33. High John the Conqueror (1969)Part Seven: A Person's a Person34. A Little Boy in a Big City (1952)35. The Sneetches (1953)36. Who Stole the Tarts? (1954)37. X: A Fabulous Child's Story (1978)38. The Princess Who Stood on Her Own Two Feet (1982)39. Excerpts from Elizabeth: A Puerto Rican-American Child Tells Her Story (1974)Part Eight: Peace40. Buster Brown Plays David and Goliath (1907)41. How Two Sweetheart Dippies Sat in the Moonlight on a Lumber Yard Fence and Heard About the Sooners and the Boomers (1923)42. In Henry's Backyard: The Races of Mankind (1948)43. Three Promises to You (1957)44. Excerpt from Come with Me: Poems, Guessing Poems, and Dance Poems for Young People (1963)

Maybe ok for teenage kids? Have put in my cupboard to bring out in 7 years.

Came quickly and what a wonderful collection of history.