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.
Lac La Croix First Nation, 113. See also American Indians, 19, 23; First Nations, 22–23, 113; Indians (Native Americans), 19, 23, 112; Indigenous people, 19, 29, 111; Native American peoples, 22–23, 67, 92, 111–113 La vita et Metamorfoseo d’Ovidio, figurato & abbreuiato in forma d’Epigrammi… (Ovid, Simeoni, and Salomon), 32 Larrick, Nancy, 23 Latinx people, 22, 109 Lawson, Robert, 10 fig, 2, 94 Le Chat Botté (Perrault), 35 Leaf, Munro, 94 Lear, Edward, viii, 4, 8–9 Lebedev, Vladimir Vasil′evich, 46 Lepore, Jill, 11 Leprince de Beaumont, Jeanne-Marie, 9 Lester, Julius, 13, 19, 72–73 Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 75 LGBTQ, 109 LGBTQIAP, 22 Liddell, Alice, 4, 8, 88 limericks (children’s literature, subgenre of ), 4 Lion and the Mouse, The (Pinkney), 24–25, 25 figs. 3–4, 26, 47 Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The (Lewis and Baynes), 3, 75 literacy, 9, 12, 23, 61–62, 66, 108, 115 literature, vii, 92, 104, 108 literature, children’s, vii–viii, ix; 1–4, 7, 9–10, 13–14, 17–25, 27, 29, 31, 39, 42–43, 46, 61, 63, 65–66, 68–69, 71–72, 77, 82, 84, 95, 102, 107–108, 111, 115 literature, comic, 64 literature, nonsense in, 3 Little Black Sambo, The Story of (Bannerman), 3, 13, 18, 69, 71. See also Sam and the Tigers Lo, Malinda, 23 Locke, John, 9, 39 Love, Jessica, 109 Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder: mit 15 schön kolorirten Tafeln für Kinder von 3–6 Jahren (Hoffmann), 63 m Make Way for Ducklings (McCloskey), 11, 83 Man without a Country, The (Hale), 2 Martin, Sarah Catherine, 51 Mayo, Hope, ix, 1, 9, 14 McCloskey, Robert, 11, 83 McDermott, Gerald, 18 Melvin, Meghan (Melvin, Meghan C.), ix, 1, 29, 114–115 Metamorphoses (Ovid), 32 Metamorphosis naturalis (Goedaert), 33 metamorphosis, 33, 103 Métis, 114. See also American Indians, 19, 23; First Nations, 22–23, 113; Indians (Native Americans), 19, 23, 112; Indigenous people, 19, 29, 111; Native American peoples, 22–23, 67, 92, 111–113 Millions of Cats (Gág), 3, 11, 11 fig. 3, 82 Milne, A. A. (Alan Alexander), 7, 10, 93 Moore, Anne Carroll, 11 Mother Goose in Prose (Baum and Parrish), 4, 54 Mother Goose (Pogány), 57 Mother Goose Rhymes (Pogány), 57 Mother Goose’s Melody; or Sonnets for the Cradle (Goldsmith), 50 Myers, Christopher, 22 Myers, Walter Dean, 22 n Nagara, Innosanto, 68 Native American peoples, 22–23, 67, 92, 111–113. See also American Indians, 19, 23; Cree, 114; First Nations, 22–23, 113; Indians (Native Americans), 19, 23, 112; Indigenous people, 19, 29, 111; Métis, 114; Ojibwe, viii, 26, 113 Nazism, 94 Neill, John, 4 New Lottery Book of Birds and Beasts for Children to Learn Their Letters By As Soon As They Can Speak, A (Bewick), 62 Newbery, John, 50–51 No Kimchi for Me! (Kim), 21 nonsense (children’s literature, subgenre of ), viii, 3–5, 64. See also Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland nursery rhymes (children’s literature, subgenre of ), 23, 38, 49–59 o O’Keeffe, Georgia, 11 Oh, Ellen, 23 Ojibwe, viii, 26, 113. See also American Indians, 19, 23; First Nations, 22–23, 113; Indians (Native Americans), 19, 23, 112; Indigenous people, 19, 29, 111; Native American peoples, 22–23, 67, 92, 111–113 ¡Olinguito, de la A a la Z! descubriendo el bosque nublado (Olinguito, from A to Z!: Unveiling the Cloud Forest) (Delacre), 66 Orbis sensualium pictus...or, A Nomenclature, and Pictures of All the Chief Things That Are in the World... (Orbis Pictus), (Comenius, Anderson, and Hoole), 18, 34 122
Oudry, Jean-Baptiste, 41 outsider status, 69 Ovid, 32 p Paddle-to-the-Sea (Holling), 3 Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale (Tonatiuh), 21 Parrish, Maxfield, 54 people of color, 22–23, 25 Perrault, Charles, 3, 8, 35 Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (Barrie), 3 Peter Parley to Penrod (Blanck), 2 Peters, Gustav Sigismund, 38 picture books (children’s books, format of ), 4, 8, 18, 20–21, 26, 53, 109, 115 Pinkney, Jerry, 13, 14 fig. 5, 19, 24–25, 25 figs. 3–4, 39, 47, 72–73 pocket watch, 4, 88 Pogány, Willy, 57 pop-up books (children’s books, format of ), 105 Potter, Beatrix, viii, 3–4, 8, 10, 20, 55–56, 78–80, 99, 101–102 pourquoi tales (children’s literature, subgenre of ), 18 power, 20–21, 24–26, 35, 42 powwow, 21, 26–27, 113 prizes in children’s literature: Caldecott Honor, 18; Caldecott Medal, 11; Newbery Honor, 11. See also Newbery, John; Caldecott, Randolph Puss in Boots. See Le Chat Botté Pyle, Howard, 7 r race theory, 20 racial insensitivity, 12. See also racism; racist imagery; stereotypes racism, 21, 25, 69. See also Baum, L. Frank; Harris, Joel Chandler; Dahl, Roald; racist imagery; stereotypes racist imagery, 12, 20, 76. See also Alligators All Around; Cat in the Hat, The; Little Black Sambo; Song of the South; Travels of Babar, The; Uncle Remus Reading Is Fun-damental (drawing for poster), 4, 9–10, 104 reclaiming, viii, 25, 73 Reese, Debbie, 19, 22, 111 religious proselytization, 69 representation, 18, 20–21, 62, 69, 107, 112 “Revenge of the Little Hippopotamus, The” (Park, Jr.), 100 rhyme, 23, 38, 49–59, 63 Robert and Harold or The Young Marooners on the Florida Coast (Goulding), 2 Roma, 67 Robertson, W. Graham, 81 Royal Game of the Dolphin, The: An Elegant, Instructive, and Amusing Pastime, 107–108 s Sabuda, Robert, 99, 105 Saeed, Aisha, 23 Salomon, Bernard, 32 Sam and the Tigers: A New Telling of Little Black Sambo (Lester and Pinkney), viii, 13, 14 fig. 5, 19, 73 Santat, Dan, 23, 24 fig. 2, 59 Scarry, Richard, viii Schiller, Justin, ix, 2–3, 7–9 Sendak, Maurice, 4, 8, 10, 14, 19, 104, 112 Sewell, Anna, 8, 97 sexism, 21, 25 Shepard, E. H. (Ernest Howard), 7, 81, 93 Simeoni, Gabriele, 32 sketch, 8, 64–65 Slonenok (The Elephant’s Child) (Kipling, Chukovskiĭ, and Lebedev), 46 social activism, 68 social awareness, 12 social dialogue, 21 Solomon, Peter J., vii–ix, 1, 3–4, 7, 14, 29, 33, 35, 37–38, 40, 45, 50–52, 54–57, 62, 64, 67, 71, 74–75, 78–80, 82, 85–86, 88, 90–91, 94, 97, 101–102, 104, 115 Solomon, Susan, viii, 1, 7, 14, 29, 50, 62, 64, 78, 101–102 Song of the South (film), 13 SPOT (Wiesner), 106 St. Nicholas Magazine, 100 Steig, William, 67 stereotypes, 13, 18–19, 25, 27, 65, 73, 76. See also racism; racist imagery Stieglitz, Alfred, 11 Story of Ferdinand, The (Leaf and Lawson), 3, 10, 10 fig. 2, 94 Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit, The (Potter), 3, 8, 8 fig. 1, 101 storytelling, 18, 29, 39–40 Stuart Little (White and Williams), viii, 3, 11, 12 fig. 4, 74 “suppressed” Alice, viii, 4, 91. See also Carroll, Lewis; Tenniel, John t Tale of Peter Rabbit, The (Potter), 8, 10, 79 Tales of Uncle Remus, The: The Adventures of Brer Rabbit (Lester and Pinkney), 13, 72 tales (children’s literature, subgenre of ), viii, 123
- Page 86 and 87: 37 E. B. White (American, 1899-1985
- Page 88 and 89: 39 Dr. Seuss [Theodor Geisel] (Amer
- Page 90 and 91: 40 Photograph of Beatrix Potter as
- Page 92 and 93: 42 Beatrix Potter (British, 1866-19
- Page 94 and 95: 44 Wanda Gág (American, 1893-1946,
- Page 96 and 97: 46 Ashley Bryan (American, born 192
- Page 98 and 99: 48 Garth Williams (American, 1912-1
- Page 100 and 101: 49A Silver pocket watch belonging t
- Page 102 and 103: 49C Lewis Carroll [Charles Dodgson]
- Page 104 and 105: 50 L. Frank Baum (American, 1856-19
- Page 106 and 107: 52 Munro Leaf (American, 1905-1976,
- Page 108 and 109: 54 Nancy Ekholm Burkert (American,
- Page 110 and 111: 98
- Page 112 and 113: 56 Park Benjamin Jr. (American, 182
- Page 115: 58 Beatrix Potter (British, 1866-19
- Page 118 and 119: 60 Maurice Sendak (American, 1928-2
- Page 120 and 121: 62 David Wiesner (American, born 19
- Page 122 and 123: 63 Unknown creator The Royal Game o
- Page 124 and 125: 110
- Page 126 and 127: 65 Maurice Sendak (American, 1928-2
- Page 128 and 129: 67 Julie Flett (Cree-Métis, born 1
- Page 130 and 131: 116
- Page 132 and 133: Page 67: Illustration from CDB! by
- Page 134 and 135: Bryan, Ashley, 25, 84 Burkert, Nanc
- Page 138: 3, 12-13, 18, 24-25, 35, 39, 43, 63
- Page 142: ISBN 9780981885872 90000 > 9 780981
Lac La Croix First Nation, 113. See also<br />
American Indians, 19, 23; First Nations,<br />
22–23, 113; Indians (Native Americans),<br />
19, 23, 112; Indigenous people, 19, 29, 111;<br />
Native American peoples, 22–23, 67, 92,<br />
111–113<br />
La vita et Metamorfoseo d’Ovidio, figurato &<br />
abbreuiato <strong>in</strong> forma d’Epigrammi… (Ovid,<br />
Simeoni, and Salomon), 32<br />
Larrick, Nancy, 23<br />
Lat<strong>in</strong>x people, 22, 109<br />
Lawson, Robert, 10 fig, 2, 94<br />
Le Chat Botté (Perrault), 35<br />
Leaf, Munro, 94<br />
Lear, Edward, viii, 4, 8–9<br />
Lebedev, Vladimir Vasil′evich, 46<br />
Lepore, Jill, 11<br />
Lepr<strong>in</strong>ce de Beaumont, Jeanne-Marie, 9<br />
Lester, Julius, 13, 19, 72–73<br />
Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 75<br />
LGBTQ, 109<br />
LGBTQIAP, 22<br />
Liddell, Alice, 4, 8, 88<br />
limericks (children’s literature, subgenre of ),<br />
4<br />
Lion and <strong>the</strong> Mouse, The (P<strong>in</strong>kney), 24–25,<br />
25 figs. 3–4, 26, 47<br />
Lion, <strong>the</strong> Witch and <strong>the</strong> Wardrobe, The<br />
(Lewis and Baynes), 3, 75<br />
literacy, 9, 12, 23, 61–62, 66, 108, 115<br />
literature, vii, 92, 104, 108<br />
literature, children’s, vii–viii, ix; 1–4, 7, 9–10,<br />
13–14, 17–25, 27, 29, 31, 39, 42–43, 46, 61,<br />
63, 65–66, 68–69, 71–72, 77, 82, 84, 95,<br />
102, 107–108, 111, 115<br />
literature, comic, 64<br />
literature, nonsense <strong>in</strong>, 3<br />
Little Black Sambo, The Story of<br />
(Bannerman), 3, 13, 18, 69, 71. See also<br />
Sam and <strong>the</strong> Tigers<br />
Lo, Mal<strong>in</strong>da, 23<br />
Locke, John, 9, 39<br />
Love, Jessica, 109<br />
Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder: mit 15<br />
schön kolorirten Tafeln für K<strong>in</strong>der von 3–6<br />
Jahren (Hoffmann), 63<br />
m<br />
Make Way for Duckl<strong>in</strong>gs (McCloskey), 11, 83<br />
Man without a Country, The (Hale), 2<br />
Mart<strong>in</strong>, Sarah Ca<strong>the</strong>r<strong>in</strong>e, 51<br />
Mayo, Hope, ix, 1, 9, 14<br />
McCloskey, Robert, 11, 83<br />
McDermott, Gerald, 18<br />
Melv<strong>in</strong>, Meghan (Melv<strong>in</strong>, Meghan C.), ix, 1,<br />
29, 114–115<br />
Metamorphoses (Ovid), 32<br />
Metamorphosis naturalis (Goedaert), 33<br />
metamorphosis, 33, 103<br />
Métis, 114. See also American Indians, 19, 23;<br />
First Nations, 22–23, 113; Indians (Native<br />
Americans), 19, 23, 112; Indigenous<br />
people, 19, 29, 111; Native American<br />
peoples, 22–23, 67, 92, 111–113<br />
Millions of Cats (Gág), 3, 11, 11 fig. 3, 82<br />
Milne, A. A. (Alan Alexander), 7, 10, 93<br />
Moore, Anne Carroll, 11<br />
Mo<strong>the</strong>r Goose <strong>in</strong> Prose (Baum and Parrish),<br />
4, 54<br />
Mo<strong>the</strong>r Goose (Pogány), 57<br />
Mo<strong>the</strong>r Goose Rhymes (Pogány), 57<br />
Mo<strong>the</strong>r Goose’s Melody; or Sonnets for <strong>the</strong><br />
Cradle (Goldsmith), 50<br />
Myers, Christopher, 22<br />
Myers, Walter Dean, 22<br />
n<br />
Nagara, Innosanto, 68<br />
Native American peoples, 22–23, 67, 92,<br />
111–113. See also American Indians, 19,<br />
23; Cree, 114; First Nations, 22–23, 113;<br />
Indians (Native Americans), 19, 23, 112;<br />
Indigenous people, 19, 29, 111; Métis, 114;<br />
Ojibwe, viii, 26, 113<br />
Nazism, 94<br />
Neill, John, 4<br />
New Lottery Book of Birds and Beasts for<br />
Children to Learn Their Letters By As<br />
Soon As They Can Speak, A (Bewick), 62<br />
Newbery, John, 50–51<br />
No Kimchi for Me! (Kim), 21<br />
nonsense (children’s literature, subgenre of ),<br />
viii, 3–5, 64. See also Alice’s Adventures <strong>in</strong><br />
Wonderland<br />
nursery rhymes (children’s literature,<br />
subgenre of ), 23, 38, 49–59<br />
o<br />
O’Keeffe, Georgia, 11<br />
Oh, Ellen, 23<br />
Ojibwe, viii, 26, 113. See also American<br />
Indians, 19, 23; First Nations, 22–23, 113;<br />
Indians (Native Americans), 19, 23, 112;<br />
Indigenous people, 19, 29, 111; Native<br />
American peoples, 22–23, 67, 92, 111–113<br />
¡Ol<strong>in</strong>guito, de la A a la Z! descubriendo el<br />
bosque nublado (Ol<strong>in</strong>guito, from A to Z!:<br />
Unveil<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Cloud Forest) (Delacre), 66<br />
Orbis sensualium pictus...or, A Nomenclature,<br />
and Pictures of All <strong>the</strong> Chief Th<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
That <strong>Are</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> World... (Orbis Pictus),<br />
(Comenius, Anderson, and Hoole), 18, 34<br />
122