GoodReads discussion: Racism in children's literature

[bobquasit]

A couple of comments I made on a discussion of children's literature and poetry over on GoodReads:

I wonder, are modern editions of A Child's Garden of Verses censored? I grew up with it myself, and I remember some expressions that might make some modern readers uncomfortable. Let me see, I suppose it's probably in the public domain now

Comments

[akicif]

There's a Kipling poem of similar initial flavour:

WE And THEY

[bobquasit]

I'd never heard that poem - thanks! It's interesting that it's quite similar to "Foreign Children" in many ways. Both are gently mocking the insularity of the attitudes taught to English schoolchildren during the colonialist period, unless I miss my guess.

There must be a complete Kipling somewhere online - perhaps the Gutenberg Project? He MUST be completely in the public domain by now!

[akicif]

My feeling is that the Kipling is rather more mocking of the stay-at-homes (although this may have been greatly helped by having heard Leslie Fish sing this and other Kipling poems - she's no time for any kind of discrimination, that one).

I've done a bit more Googling, and the link above does seem to connect to as much online Kipling as you'll get nowadays.

I wonder - how close is Sebastian to Dan and Oona's ages?

[bobquasit]

Now I'll have to do some searching. Hmm...how's this?

http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/k#a132

Sebastian turned 7 on October 5th.