Socio-Economic and Racial Politics in My Favorite Childhood Book
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(Corduroy & Lisa ) In 1968, a girl named Lisa fell in love with a little brown bear wearing green overalls with one button missing, and thousands of readers followed suit, making Corduroy one of the best-loved children's books of all time. - PenguinRandomHouse
I do not know about you, but when I recall books of my childhood, I do not think of Dr. Suess. I automatically think of Corduroy.
Written by Don Freeman, the Corduroy series is about a stuffed bear and his friend and owner, Lisa. Corduroy was the first book in the Classic four part series, and set the foundation for the other books in regards to the introduction to Lisa, a young girl who eventually purchases the imperfect bear with her entire piggy bank savings because her mom does not have the funds to purchase it for her.
Corduroy is the cutest children's story ever. This book may have been essential to the development of my empathetic capabilities because I used to feel so sorry for this little bear who felt that he would never be purchased if he did not go on a mission to find his missing button. This book is great for teaching kids that the external appearance should not mean more than a person's character.
Although the book does not focus on class or race issues, directly, it does promote these conversations through some innuendos throughout the book. This book was written in 1968 by Don Freeman, a notable American painter, paint maker and cartoonist, during the American Civil Rights era. One interesting facet of this series is the fact that Freeman decided to portray Lisa as a black girl-- By this time, children books featuring minority protagonists were very rare. Regardless, readers became fond of corduroy and the little girl who loved him despite the fact that she was not white.
It is also intriguing that Lisa looks racially ambiguous, despite her mom's skin color of dark ebony brown. We could assume that Freeman was depicting her to be of mixed heritage which is also a really beautiful thing considering that during the time this book was written mixed marriages were taboo. I do not think it is a coincidence that in the sea of yellow, pink and white stuffed animals, the brown girl was attracted to the brown bear with green overalls and a missing button; the outlier. Regardless of how Freeman decided to illustrate Lisa and the bear, I find it interesting that he never mentions her ethnicity, creating a sense of inclusivity amongst young readers and encouraging kids that a child of any color could befriend Corduroy.
Socioeconomic consciousness is also apparent throughout the series. In the first book, Lisa wanted the bear immediately, but her mother did not have the funds to buy it for her on demand replying with " Not Today dear. I've spent too much already". So the next day, Lisa decides to purchase the bear with her own saved money. I do not know about you, but it took me years to fill up a piggy bank to its capacity.
In most of the books, Freeman presented more of background into Lisa's socioeconomic status. After four flights of stairs to her family's apartment, Corduroy says " the room was small, nothing like that enormous palace of a department store. 'This must be home" and In Lost and found, it is written that Lisa and her mother ride a bus to and from a day of shopping instead of a car. Despite these illustrations, the family's economic and racial status are never explicitly mentioned (I mean, that is not the point of the book anyways) , but allows the reader to deduce their own conclusions. Honestly, what makes corduroy so beautiful is that it doesn't make race or class a plot point, but attempts to tell a story of a girl who happens to be black. That being said, it is palatable for a young audience, but I wonder if it could have been a bit more progressive? I know others would argue to protect the innocence of a child or may feel that children’s books are not supposed to hint at topics such as race, but why not? I think more than not, we would rear more conscious kids who can critically think about difference in our society.
Regardless, It was cool to pick up my childhood book and being able to read it through a more critical lens. I appreciate children's books that explore and highlight cultural heritage, pride and differences. Although it did not explicitly delve into the racial innuendos we saw, it is great to read books that feature people, or kids of color, without explicitly focusing on race as a way of normalizing it. However doing this requires an active guardian who is able to explain certain issues that may be missed.
So, what do you think? Do you think that Corduroy is actually a progressive book in regards to racial and economic politics or do you think that it was a missed opportunity for kids to explore difference and learn acceptance? Do you think that acknowledging race and difference in the book would have changed the narrative?
Let's discuss in the comments below!
