Animals Are Us: Anthropomorphism in Children’s Literature; Celebrating the Peter J. Solomon Collection
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Animals Are Us: Anthropomorphism in Children’s Literature; Celebrating the Peter J. Solomon Collection

Why do we tell stories to children through and about animals? Are there reasons why we shouldn’t? Animals Are Us invites explores these questions and more through influential historic examples of anthropomorphism in dialogue with contemporary books drawn from the collection of Peter J. Solomon (Harvard College Class of 1960, MBA 1963) and the holdings of Houghton Library.  The exhibition invites you to engage critically with animal anthropomorphism, and delight in the artfulness of this enduring literary genre. Catalog of an exhibition on view at Houghton Library, Harvard University, September 1, 2021 - January 7, 2022. Why do we tell stories to children through and about animals? Are there reasons why we shouldn’t? Animals Are Us invites explores these questions and more through influential historic examples of anthropomorphism in dialogue with contemporary books drawn from the collection of Peter J. Solomon (Harvard College Class of 1960, MBA 1963) and the holdings of Houghton Library.  The exhibition invites you to engage critically with animal anthropomorphism, and delight in the artfulness of this enduring literary genre.

Catalog of an exhibition on view at Houghton Library, Harvard University, September 1, 2021 - January 7, 2022.

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62 David Wiesner (American, born 1956, author-illustrator) SPOT Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015 Application and e-book David Wiesner is a devoted advocate of wordless books tinged with the surreal, who pushes boundaries with his postmodern approach. Spot, like Carroll’s Alice, takes the reader down a digital rabbit hole, but this time the reader is led by a ladybug. The reader enters five worlds within worlds and encounters bugs, robots, fish, and aliens, all brimming with humanoid vitality. Due to his sales track record, publisher Houghton Mifflin took a chance on Wiesner’s technological experiment. 106

GAME CHANGERS Published almost two centuries apart, this board game and book reflect cultural shifts in publishing for children in different ways. Julián Is a Mermaid was groundbreaking in its imaginative and accessible celebration of gender nonconformity, while the dynamic visual concept of the Royal Game of the Dolphin was decades ahead of contemporary children’s literature in terms of scale and use of color. The colorful look of children’s literature was only made possible by radical advances in affordable color print technology in the second half of the nineteenth century. Today, the board game industry, like children’s book publishers, is beginning to address the lack of cultural representation in its products. 107

62<br />

David Wiesner (American, born 1956, author-illustrator)<br />

SPOT<br />

Boston: Houghton Miffl<strong>in</strong> Harcourt, 2015<br />

Application and e-book<br />

David Wiesner is a devoted advocate of wordless books<br />

t<strong>in</strong>ged with <strong>the</strong> surreal, who pushes boundaries with his<br />

postmodern approach. Spot, like Carroll’s Alice, takes <strong>the</strong><br />

reader down a digital rabbit hole, but this time <strong>the</strong> reader<br />

is led by a ladybug. The reader enters five worlds with<strong>in</strong><br />

worlds and encounters bugs, robots, fish, and aliens, all<br />

brimm<strong>in</strong>g with humanoid vitality. Due to his sales track<br />

record, publisher Houghton Miffl<strong>in</strong> took a chance on<br />

Wiesner’s technological experiment.<br />

106

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