Is this a stroke-of-genius way of engaging young minds, cleverly combining accessibility and playfulness to enlighten a new generation and address the urgent issue of the day? Or does it represent the transfer of adult anxieties onto the shoulders of those too weak to bear them, and provoke fear in bodies too young to withstand it? Is this a colouring book that helpfully hastens us towards a better world? Or old-world profit-seeking? One does not necessarily exclude the other, of course. And the former may depend on the latter, after all.
It doesn’t seem as insidious as all of that to me.(Though I hear your criticism and it is valid). Children are not immune from anxieties regardless of how protected they are, and are much more resilient than we give them credit for. This book appears to be an age appropriate introduction to concerns about the planet and offers the reassurance that “people are doing things to be helpers and you are invited into that cooperative also”.
Every parent must do what they believe in their heart is the right thing, and every parent knows this as a great responsibility. In this case, my concern could be summed up as: what is the purpose, and is it worth the risk? Colouring books are for very young children, who by definition can do nothing about climate change. So while you might be informing them about something they will need to know in due course, I don't think they need to know about it sooner than they can do something about it (and colouring in pictures doesn't do that). Because fear without agency translates into anxiety. And climate change is an apocalyptic fear that a young mind (even many an adult mind) is not equipped to cope with.
Surely a happy childhood is the greater goal, because happy children have a better chance of becoming contented adults, who in their turn might do something worthwhile for the planet. A planet in which children coloured in pictures of nature for the joy of it, not for a message planted by grown-ups.
I’d argue that children must learn to grapple with a great many scary concepts in a world where they lack full autonomy.
I think of the Captain Planet show from my youth and how excited I was to be doing tiny eco-conscious activities. I remember the story book Fly Away Home that discussed homelessness. I know there are a great number of books for children on the topic of death (which we never gain agency over but must confront regardless). Coloring may not “do” anything per se, but early education and age appropriate discussion is an excellent foundation.
I do agree with you that if a parent felt the coloring book would cause anxiety in a fruitless way that their judgment is best. I simply say all of this because I perceived you were questioning all of your initial judgements about the book and I sought to provide a softer view of it.
It comes down to the age of the child and the scariness of the concept, though. Getting used to not getting your own way? Good early lesson to learn. The planet is screwed and it's your job? Less good for preschoolers. It's not easy, I grant you. If people want to sell and buy such books, I'm never going to stop them.
Haha I have a suspicion that it’s more “here’s some ways you can help protect the planet” rather than complete nihilism but hell, what do I know? I’ve never read it. (Or colored it, as it were) Anyway, Thanks for entertaining my counter-perspective with some grace .
It's what I love about conversations with strangers on Substack (as opposed to Zuck's products): I learn a lot, and shades of grey and courtesy are still a currency. Thank you.
It doesn’t seem as insidious as all of that to me.(Though I hear your criticism and it is valid). Children are not immune from anxieties regardless of how protected they are, and are much more resilient than we give them credit for. This book appears to be an age appropriate introduction to concerns about the planet and offers the reassurance that “people are doing things to be helpers and you are invited into that cooperative also”.
Every parent must do what they believe in their heart is the right thing, and every parent knows this as a great responsibility. In this case, my concern could be summed up as: what is the purpose, and is it worth the risk? Colouring books are for very young children, who by definition can do nothing about climate change. So while you might be informing them about something they will need to know in due course, I don't think they need to know about it sooner than they can do something about it (and colouring in pictures doesn't do that). Because fear without agency translates into anxiety. And climate change is an apocalyptic fear that a young mind (even many an adult mind) is not equipped to cope with.
Surely a happy childhood is the greater goal, because happy children have a better chance of becoming contented adults, who in their turn might do something worthwhile for the planet. A planet in which children coloured in pictures of nature for the joy of it, not for a message planted by grown-ups.
The risk might be an unhappy modernisation of Phillip Larkin: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48419/this-be-the-verse
(Larkin might not have enjoyed being modernised in any respect!)
I’d argue that children must learn to grapple with a great many scary concepts in a world where they lack full autonomy.
I think of the Captain Planet show from my youth and how excited I was to be doing tiny eco-conscious activities. I remember the story book Fly Away Home that discussed homelessness. I know there are a great number of books for children on the topic of death (which we never gain agency over but must confront regardless). Coloring may not “do” anything per se, but early education and age appropriate discussion is an excellent foundation.
I do agree with you that if a parent felt the coloring book would cause anxiety in a fruitless way that their judgment is best. I simply say all of this because I perceived you were questioning all of your initial judgements about the book and I sought to provide a softer view of it.
It comes down to the age of the child and the scariness of the concept, though. Getting used to not getting your own way? Good early lesson to learn. The planet is screwed and it's your job? Less good for preschoolers. It's not easy, I grant you. If people want to sell and buy such books, I'm never going to stop them.
Haha I have a suspicion that it’s more “here’s some ways you can help protect the planet” rather than complete nihilism but hell, what do I know? I’ve never read it. (Or colored it, as it were) Anyway, Thanks for entertaining my counter-perspective with some grace .
It's what I love about conversations with strangers on Substack (as opposed to Zuck's products): I learn a lot, and shades of grey and courtesy are still a currency. Thank you.