Jonathan Todres and Sarah Higinbotham, Human Rights in Childrens Literature: Imagination and the Narrative of the Law (Oxford UP, 2016)
How can children grow to realize their inherent rights and respect the rights of others? In Human Rights in Children\u2019s Literature: Imagination and the Narrative of Law (Oxford University Press, 2016), authors Jonathan Todres and Sarah Higinbotham explore this question through both human rights law and children\u2019s literature. Both international and domestic law affirm that children have rights, but how are these norms disseminated so that they make a difference in children\u2019s lives? Human rights education research demonstrates that when children learn about human rights, they exhibit greater self-esteem and respect the rights of others. The Convention on the Rights of the Child \u2014 the most widely-ratified human rights treaty \u2014 not only ensures that children have rights, it also requires that states make those rights \u201cwidely known, by appropriate and active means, to adults and children alike.\u201d This first-of-its-kind requirement for a human rights treaty indicates that if rights are to be meaningful to the lives of children, then government and civil society must engage with those rights in ways that are relevant to children.\n\nHuman Rights in Children\u2019s Literature investigates children\u2019s rights under international law \u2014 identity and family rights, the right to be heard, the right to be free from discrimination, and other civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights \u2014 and considers the way in which those rights are embedded in children\u2019s literature from Peter Rabbit to Horton Hears a Who! to Harry Potter. This book traverses children\u2019s rights law, literary theory, and human rights education to argue that in order for children to fully realize their human rights, they first have to imagine and understand them. Learn more at: www.jonathantodres.com\n\n\n\nSusan Raab is president of Raab Associates, an internationally recognized agency that specializes in marketing literature, products and initiatives that help improve the lives of young people. Clients have included National Geographic, Scholastic, the International Board on Books for Young People, and bestselling authors and illustrators. Susan is marketing advisor for the Society of Children\u2019s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She\u2019s also a journalist reporting on publishing, education and human rights. Her work as a broadcast correspondent has been hosted by the University of Connecticut, and by the University of Florida\u2019s Recess Radio, a program syndicated to 500 public radio stations. Her many interviews, including with Art Spiegelman, Jon Scieszka, Norton Juster, Laurie Halse Anderson and many others talking about art and literature can be heard here. Follow Susan at: https://twitter.com/sraab18\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law