In 1912, a revolutionary chick cries, “Strike down the
wall!” and liberates itself from the “egg state.” In 1940,
ostriches pull their heads out of the sand and unite to
fight fascism. In 1972, Baby X grows up without a gender and
is happy about it.
Rather than teaching children to
obey authority, to conform, or to seek redemption through
prayer, twentieth-century leftists encouraged children to
question the authority of those in power. Tales for
Little Rebels collects forty-three mostly out-of-print
stories, poems, comic strips, primers, and other texts for
children that embody this radical tradition. These pieces
reflect the concerns of twentieth-century leftist movements,
like peace, civil rights, gender equality, environmental
responsibility, and the dignity of labor. They also address
the means of achieving these ideals, including taking
collective action, developing critical thinking skills, and
harnessing the liberating power of the
imagination.
Some of the authors and illustrators are
familiar, including Lucille Clifton, Syd Hoff, Langston
Hughes, Walt Kelly, Norma Klein, Munro Leaf, Julius Lester,
Eve Merriam, Charlotte Pomerantz, Carl Sandburg, and Dr.
Seuss. Others are relatively unknown today, but their work
deserves to be remembered. (Each of the pieces includes an
introduction and a biographical sketch of the author.) From
the anti-advertising message of Johnny Get Your Money’s
Worth (and Jane Too)! (1938) to the entertaining lessons
in ecology provided by The Day They Parachuted Cats on
Borneo (1971), and Sandburg’s mockery of war in
Rootabaga Pigeons (1923), these pieces will thrill
readers intrigued by politics and history—and anyone with a
love of children's literature, no matter what age.
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