Classic children's books under fire for lack of diversity - but let's all calm down
By Heidi Krause|
Possum Magic, Hairy McClary, Where The Wild Things Are and The Very Hungry Caterpillar - they are classic books that hold a special place in the hearts of generations of children, and their parents.
However, the titles, along with other childhood favourites, have come under fire for their "lack of diversity". The claims have sparked a heated debate about what books we should be reading to our children at home and in educational settings.
Dr Helen Adam from Edith Cowan University highlighted 10 classic children's books that fail to showcase "diverse characters" and "perpetuate gender stereotypes" in her latest research in the Australian Educational Researcher.
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"Purely and simply this research shows there's a lack of representation of boys and girls in non-traditional gender roles in these books," she said in a statement.
"At the time of this study, lots of the centres had mainly older books, some first published in the 1950s or 60s, when society's views on these topics was very different to today."
Dr Adam said the representation of gender diverse children and families was completely absent in the books studied, as well as characters from minority ethnic backgrounds - and that many feature animal characters without humans, which is of concern.
"This can contribute to children from these families and backgrounds feeling excluded or marginalised," she said.
Debate has flared up on social media with many branding Dr Adam a "woke, leftist handwringer"... or Insert "another disparaging remark".
"This is absurd," said one outraged critic on Twitter. "How the hell is Hairy Maclary, The Hungry Caterpillar and other children's literature too "white middle-class society"? Dr Helen Adam from Edith Cowan University needs to stay away from our treasured books."
To provide you with more detail, the study was conducted across eight early learning centres in Australia and the US. In Australia, 24 educators agreed to be part of the study, and selected the 12 most-read picture books over a five-day observation period.
The study found that about 90 per cent of the books fell short of representing multicultural Australia fairly, and are largely told from "a white, male perspective".
For example, one of the books analysed, Harry the Dirty Dog, shows males outnumbering females by more than 3:1, with males portrayed in multiple occupations while females appearing in passive, domestic and nurturing roles.
According to Aussie author Michelle Worthington, this study doesn't give Aussie authors, or kids, much credit.
"Let's keep in mind that only eight daycare centres were examined in the study so this is not exactly comprehensive research," Worthington tells 9Honey Parenting. "That's my first concern.
"And also there is a real danger in taking something from the 80s or 90s and trying to fit it into a modern framework... books have been banned in the last year for not being 'appropriate' but you really have to look at the context and when they were written."
"Books like Possum Magic define a generation."
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While Worthington agrees that there is a need for diversity among picture books, she also doesn't think the focus should just be on younger kids.
"Daycares and schools need to be equipped with a proper budget that allows them to buy more current books by new and emerging Aussie authors. Let's face it, daycares often rely on hand-me-downs from parents who have trawled through the cupboards at home."
"Also the idea that kids need human instead of animal main characters to identify does not sit well with me at all. I don't think the study is giving kids enough credit.."
"I'm happy that we are having this conversation about picture books. They are such an amazing resource for kids of all ages and to help tackle subjects that may be difficult to talk about."
So let's all take a deep breath. Dr Adam is not banning anything. She is not saying we need to take to our bookshelves and burn every copy of 'We're going on a Bear Hunt'. Quite the opposite. She is simply calling for educators to draw from a broad range of books.
"My concern is that we need to have a diverse book collection so that every child has the chance to see books that reflect people like them, families like theirs, worlds like theirs," she told 3AW.
"It's not about those individual books, it's about are we just relying on those books, are they the diet of books kids are getting served up today?"
"Expand your bookshelves beyond what you loved to read as a child."
According to Dr Adam, some recently published books that challenge traditional notions of gender include:
- My Shadow is Pink by Scott Stuart
- Do you want to play trucks? by Ann Stott
- Who's your real mum? by Bernadette Green
- Me and my boots by Penny Harrison
- I want to be a superhero by Breanna Humes
And while the author has a point, many people are still concerned it's a slippery slope to cancel culture.
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