Children’s Literature as a Tool for Political Radicalization.
“Children’s literature is pure, innocent, and uncontroversial.”
This was an assumption that was countered in our weekly reading with a simple paragraph that must be elaborated on to understand how children’s literature shapes the modern world. However, as someone who has lived in Florida and has seen just how reactionary parents and politicians have become towards children’s literature, there is more to be said than “Children live in a world primarily created for adults.”
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PBS.org states, “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is touting a series of measures he has pushed that have led to an upswing in banned or restricted books — not just in Florida schools but in an increasing number of other conservative states.” The article explains that books that were “banned” from school libraries were deemed as “pornographic” and “inappropriate” for students and that the laws Gov. DeSantis passed ensured that parents had greater control over what educational materials their children had access to in schools. Ignoring that most children in the United States have access to the internet, whether that’s at home, with their friends, or in their local library and likely have access to almost any information they could think to ask about, the state banned school library books that included a picture book about two male penguins raising an egg together (based on a true story). “And Tango Makes Three” by Henry Cole was banned because the picture book was deemed “inappropriate” because the two penguins in question were homosexual male penguins.
These penguins do not commit sexual acts in the pages of the children’s picture book. The only indication that these penguins are homosexual is that penguins “Roy” and “Silo” build a nest together and ultimately raise a penguin chick together named “Tango”. Some parents believe that children reading “And Tango Makes Three” depicting a same gender penguin relationship (a story based on a true story of two male penguins building a nest together at the zoo) normalizes same gender human relationships. The idea of “And Tango Makes Three” is simple, but radical enough to be in the top ten books banned in U.S. classrooms since 2006 when the book was released. After all, if children’s ideas of what a family can look like is challenged by a simple picture book, what other political ideologies can children read about and disagree with their parents’ viewpoints on? When children begin disagreeing with their parents, what’s to stop children from advocating for themselves politically? What’s to stop children from changing the world?
Website used: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/republican-2024-hopeful-ron-desantis-is-blazing-a-trail-on-school-book-bans
By Mara Grigg
