"Should We Burn Babar?" Response

"Should We Burn Babar?" is the first essay in a book of the same title. The Babar books are well-loved children's classics about an adorable elephant. They also happen to be loaded with colonialism and racism. And probably a few other nasty isms. What are we to do with a book like this, as thinking parents and educators?

The author, Herbert Kohl, concludes that Babar should be read critically, with adult guidance, and otherwise be relegated to a museum shelf for historical oddities. I essentially agree with him. Upon rereading as an adult, I was similarly disturbed by the colonial messages in Curious George. Let's all agree to stop sending white characters to the jungle to civilize monkeys and elephants, okay?

Kohl is careful to avoid advocating censorship and encourages his reader to help children develop critical attitudes towards their books and toys. I can imagine reading Babar with my daughter as part of a history lesson on French colonialism.

Moving from Babar to Barbie, Kohl explains that though troubled by all they represent he and his wife allowed their daughters to have Barbie dolls. He encouraged them to be played with in a variety of creative ways, and modeled respect for women. The girls grew up to be feminists, undamaged by Barbie dolls, and they tell their father that their home environment helped them understand that Barbies are nothing like real women.

Then Kohl explains that he draws the line at G.I. Joe toys, because they teach children that war is play. It was the 1970s, he and his wife were protesting the Vietnam War, and they explained that those toys represented the worst in people. It "worked," the kids never wanted the toys, and they grew up to be pacifists. That's all well and good, and I'm not a huge fan of war. However, we have access to more subtle ideas about war and soldiers, just like the variety of ways to play with Barbie dolls. You can protest a war and respect a soldier. G.I. Joe can provide humanitarian aid. We are all products of our time, but what this passage boiled down to is Kohl being more disturbed by war (G.I. Joe) than he is by sexism (Barbie). He's entitled to that, but I was irked by the break from, "teach kids to think for themselves" in favor of "I raised my kids to believe what I believe, and now they do, yay!"

On the whole, the essay was very thoughtful and nuanced. While criticizing every aspect of Babar, Kohl acknowledges the charm of the story and its illustrations. He retells how much he loved them as a child. I appreciate his honesty, because I remember my horror when my mother pointed out the problems with this story. There is a loss of innocence involved. Kohl provides many ideas to discuss with our children and students, and I will return to this essay if and when I am reading Babar to children.