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This post is auto-generated from RSS feed BOOK RIOT. Source: That’s Unfair!: Children’s Books About Intelligent Disobedience and Challenging Norms

On the way to a New Year’s Day hike, my eight-year-old daughter and I were talking about the Pledge of Allegiance. I had told her a silly story about misunderstanding the words in second grade. “Momma,” she responded, “the pledge ends by saying ‘and liberty and justice for all.’ If Black people still experience racism, how is that true? And what about immigrants? That’s unfair.” Yes, yes, it is unfair. 

Every day, we hear about a deluge of injustices. Creating a better world often feels impossible, but giving up and doing nothing only helps those who maintain the status quo. The only way to make things better is to speak up, stand up for what’s right, challenge norms, and be disobedient in the face of the unfair. To “get in good trouble, necessary trouble,” as John Lewis said. 

Children are keen observers of the unjust. While teaching disobedience might seem counterintuitive to caregivers, empowering children to stand up for what’s right and giving them the tools to do so will help them build confidence, protect their boundaries, and make their communities a better place. These picture books depict children disrupting the story, saying no, and enacting change: building blocks for intelligent disobedience in the fight for making the world fair. 

Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf by Craig Barr-Green & Francis Martin Modern fairytale retellings are a great place to find kids disrupting the narrative and challenging authority to save themselves and others. When Gina Kaminski reads “Little Red Riding Hood” at school, she scoffs at the ending. The wolf DIES! That’s unfair. To save the wolf, she hops into the fairytale and disrupts the story. She does so using her wits and kid logic. It’s a clever and funny read that encourages kids to question and reframe familiar stories and outcomes.  More picture book fairytales about intelligent disobedience: It’s Not Little Red Riding Hood, Federico and the Wolf, and Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu.

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