{"product_id":"was-the-cat-in-the-hat-black-the-hidden-racism-of-childrens-literature-and-the-need-for-diverse-books-paperback","title":"Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePhilip Nel\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRacism is resilient, duplicitous, and endlessly adaptable, so it is no surprise that America is again in a period of civil rights activism. A significant reason racism endures is because it is structural: it's embedded in culture and in institutions. One of the places that racism hides-and\u003cbr\u003ethus perhaps the best place to oppose it-is books for young people. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cem\u003eWas the Cat in the Hat Black?\u003c\/em\u003e presents five serious critiques of the history and current state of children's literature tempestuous relationship with both implicit and explicit forms of racism. The book fearlessly examines topics both vivid-such as \u003cem\u003eThe Cat in the Hat\u003c\/em\u003e's roots in blackface\u003cbr\u003eminstrelsy-and more opaque, like how the children's book industry can perpetuate structural racism via whitewashed covers even while making efforts to increase diversity. Rooted in research yet written with a lively, crackling touch, Nel delves into years of literary criticism and recent\u003cbr\u003esociological data in order to show a better way forward. Though much of what is proposed here could be endlessly argued, the knowledge that what we learn in childhood imparts both subtle and explicit lessons about whose lives matter is not debatable. The text concludes with a short and stark\u003cbr\u003eproposal of actions everyone-reader, author, publisher, scholar, citizen- can take to fight the biases and prejudices that infect children's literature. While \u003cem\u003eWas the Cat in the Hat Black?\u003c\/em\u003e does not assume it has all the answers to such a deeply systemic problem, its audacity should stimulate\u003cbr\u003ediscussion and activism.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePhilip Nel\u003c\/strong\u003e is University Distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University. His many books include \u003cem\u003eCrockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children's Literature\u003c\/em\u003e (UP Mississippi, 2012), \u003cem\u003eTales for Little Rebels: A Collection of Radical Children's Literature\u003c\/em\u003e (NYU Press, 2008, co-edited with Julia Mickenberg), \u003cem\u003eThe Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats\u003c\/em\u003e (Random House, 2007), and \u003cem\u003eDr. Seuss: American Icon \u003c\/em\u003e(Continuum, 2004).\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 304\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.8 x 8.2 x 5.4 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 29, 2019\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45256005779558,"sku":"9780190932879","price":41.05,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/WTFxRzFaSmV0VEN4YTVLcHVlTTZEZz09.webp?v=1773690630","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/was-the-cat-in-the-hat-black-the-hidden-racism-of-childrens-literature-and-the-need-for-diverse-books-paperback","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}