--- title: The Hidden (and Not-So-Hidden) Racism In Children's Books description: The author of "Was the Cat in the Hat Black?" writes its valuable to know the history of books like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" canonical: https://time.com/4876091/racism-childrens-books-kids-lit/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-27T10:49:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:45:25.770Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Hidden (and Not-So-Hidden) Racism In Kids' Lit og:description: Should parents abstain from reading offensive classics to their children? og:url: https://time.com/4876091/racism-childrens-books-kids-lit/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c0efca255fbd25b/6988d756cf40a898bfc48b94/racist-kids-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: racist-kids-books og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Hidden (and Not-So-Hidden) Racism In Kids' Lit twitter:description: Should parents abstain from reading offensive classics to their children? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c0efca255fbd25b/6988d756cf40a898bfc48b94/racist-kids-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Hidden (and Not-So-Hidden) Racism In Kids' Lit > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=20c3f982-823d-42ae-b40c-c8ad82dcb2ae&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jul 27, 2017 10:49 AM UTC  Dilys Ng for TIME by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Jul 27, 2017 10:49 AM UTC Revisiting a favorite [children’s book](http://time.com/100-best-childrens-books/) packs a powerful emotional punch. For many mothers and fathers, sharing the books their parents read to them with their own kids, decades later, is one of the highlights of the early years. But oftentimes stories and illustrations that seemed benign in one era become problematic as social mores change. In his new book, [_Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/019063507X/?tag=timecom-20), Philip Nel studies the paradox of stories that are meant to nurture but can also do harm. An English professor at Kansas State University, Nel has probed racism in kids’ books in his classes and in previous books, and he uses this volume to highlight how dozens of beloved picture and chapter books leave negative messages in children’s minds. “No one wants to admit to enjoying something or liking something that perpetuates racial stereotypes. But we do, because a book can be beautiful and racist, a book can be a classic and racist, a book can be really pleasurable and also really racist.” For instance, one of Nel’s personal favorites, [_Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0142401080/?tag=timecom-20), has a big problem in the Oompa Loompas. The characters, which were depicted in early editions as African pygmies, are portrayed as happy slaves, content to leave their native land behind and toil in a factory. Especially for children who are descendants of slaves, such messages can have a pernicious effect on how they interpret their value in the world. So should parents abstain from reading offensive classics to their children? “I would respect the parent who made that choice,” Nel says. But on the other hand, “There’s also a reason to read them with children, because [racism](http://time.com/4544356/jodi-picoult-confronts-racism/) exists in the world. Children are going to encounter it, and a safer way to learn how to encounter it is via fiction. If you’re reading a racist children’s book with a child, you can help them read it critically, you can help them learn that it’s okay to be angry at a book.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4876091/racism-childrens-books-kids-lit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4876091/racism-childrens-books-kids-lit/"},"headline":"The Hidden (and Not-So-Hidden) Racism In Kids' Lit","datePublished":"2017-07-27T10:49:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:45:25.770Z","description":"Should parents abstain from reading offensive classics to their children?","url":"https://time.com/4876091/racism-childrens-books-kids-lit/","keywords":["Books","Racism","Literature"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c0efca255fbd25b/6988d756cf40a898bfc48b94/racist-kids-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c0efca255fbd25b/6988d756cf40a898bfc48b94/racist-kids-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"racist-kids-books","caption":"racist-kids-books","creditText":"Dilys Ng for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4876091/racism-childrens-books-kids-lit/","name":"The Hidden (and Not-So-Hidden) Racism In Kids' Lit"}}]}] ```