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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15<br />
Jerry P<strong>in</strong>kney (American, born 1939, author-illustrator)<br />
The Lion & <strong>the</strong> Mouse<br />
New York; Boston: Little, Brown and Company Books for<br />
Young Readers, 2009<br />
25 x 29 cm<br />
Houghton Library, Typ 2070.09.6945<br />
Gift of H. Nichols B. Clark, 2019<br />
P<strong>in</strong>kney’s wordless <strong>in</strong>terpretation of Aesop’s “The Lion and <strong>the</strong><br />
Mouse” is not without sound. While his animals don’t speak,<br />
<strong>the</strong>ir highly expressive faces are exceptionally conv<strong>in</strong>c<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong>ir anthropomorphism. The connection between <strong>the</strong> mighty<br />
lion and <strong>the</strong> t<strong>in</strong>y mouse is expressed powerfully by <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
mutual gaze. Hav<strong>in</strong>g once set <strong>the</strong> mouse free, <strong>the</strong> captive lion<br />
now depends on his former prey to help him escape.<br />
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