"Children's" books against authority

[EthanLeeVita]

I read them twice through. I think I'll reread them when I get home. I learned a lot about history from them. I really wish they had kept going past 1900. I just discovered there were movies done for a couple in late 70's. I might have to find those somehow...

[jerryswife]

Help. please.  My nephew's birthday party is Monday (Memorial Day) and as usual I am shopping at the last minute.  I think he is going to be 4 (maybe 5,we don't see him a lot).  Can anyone suggest a couple of libertarian leaning books that would be appropriate for his age and available at the big bookstores??

Thanks!!

[toowm]

Help. please.  My nephew's birthday party is Monday (Memorial Day) and as usual I am shopping at the last minute.  I think he is going to be 4 (maybe 5,we don't see him a lot).  Can anyone suggest a couple of libertarian leaning books that would be appropriate for his age and available at the big bookstores??

I'd say Dr. Seuss - Horton Hears a Who. Or Horton Hatches the Egg, which isn't a movie.

***
For me, Heinlein was key, although The Moon is a Harsh Mistress did more than the juveniles (I've got them all now, even The Rolling Stones, if anyone wants to borrow one). Also the Tripods series (The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, and The Pool of Fire) by John Christopher, The Three Investigators, Prydain (sp?) series by Lloyd Alexander.

Although I didn't read it 'til I was an adult, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is great and my kids loved it. Kids really connect with the message that they're treated as sub-human, but truly can accomplish anything (sometimes more) than adults.

[Sam A. Robrin]

Or Horton Hatches the Egg, which isn't a movie.

Actually, there was a short cartoon made of that one ca. 1940-50.

[SethCohn]

For young adults and adults of all ages:

Little Brother
http://nhunderground.com/forum/index.php?topic=14212.0

[David]

Princess Navina Visits Voluntaria
the Uncle Eric books

I'd second the uncle eric books.  They are specifically marketed for high school age homeschoolers.  The book Whatever happened to Justice did more to convert me to libertarianism than any other single book.  I was prolly 11 or 12 when I first read it. 
http://freekeene.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/david.jpg

[Raineyrocks]

Lies My Teacher Told Me;  Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, by James W. Loewen


Here's one of the paragraphs I like from this book:

By downplaying covert and illegal acts by the government, textbook authors narcotize students from thinking about such issues as the increasing dominance of the executive branch.  By taking the government's side, textbooks encourage students to conclude that criticism is incompatible with citizenship.And by presenting government actions in a vacuum, rather than  as responses to such institutions as multinational corporations and civil rights organizations, textbooks mystify the creative tension between the people and their leaders.  All this encourages students to throw up their hands in the belief that the government determines everything anyway, so why bother, expecially if its actions are usually so benign.  Thus our American history textbooks minimize the potential power of the people and despite their best patriotic efforts, take a stance that is overtly antidemocratic.

Pg. 231, Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James W. Loewen

[liftsboxes]

There are versions of this book for children, as well as for adults, but The Last of the Mohicans is a good one.

I enjoyed Johnny Tremain as a child.

Dune is a good example of revolution and re-enslavement.

The Harry Potter series (HT: Dale), The Hobbit, and The Phantom Tollbooth are also good choices.

[KBCraig]

Lies My Teacher Told Me;  Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, by James W. Loewen

I've never bought Loewen's books, but I've always appreciated various excerpts that I've read.

Watching this video from the Amazon page makes me reconsider. He declares a private property owner defending his private property in 1861 to be a "murderer", and that those who killed him in response were justified.

That's just one datum point, and perhaps it's unfair to judge Loewen based on that, but it indicates a significantly different worldview than mine. It's so different from my view of private property, that Mr. Loewen would have to take serious steps to overcome my skepticism about his work.

And in any case, that's a relatively obscure incident, hardly one of the "lies my teacher told me". If anything, the teachers wouldn't portray Jackson as a hero at all, because they taught the U.S. point of view, not the secessionist.

[Raineyrocks]

Lies My Teacher Told Me;  Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, by James W. Loewen

I've never bought Loewen's books, but I've always appreciated various excerpts that I've read.

Watching this video from the Amazon page makes me reconsider. He declares a private property owner defending his private property in 1861 to be a "murderer", and that those who killed him in response were justified.

That's just one datum point, and perhaps it's unfair to judge Loewen based on that, but it indicates a significantly different worldview than mine. It's so different from my view of private property, that Mr. Loewen would have to take serious steps to overcome my skepticism about his work.

And in any case, that's a relatively obscure incident, hardly one of the "lies my teacher told me". If anything, the teachers wouldn't portray Jackson as a hero at all, because they taught the U.S. point of view, not the secessionist.

Wow, what a jerk!  Not you, Mr. Loewen.  I still like the book though but I've just lost my respect for the author.

[Libertine]

http://www.justaplant.com/

[Raineyrocks]

http://www.justaplant.com/

Hi Libertine!   How's it going?

I must get your karma going! 

[Trillian]

I know this is an older thread, but was wondering if anyone else had ran into more books with libertarian ideas. Most of the earlier books mentioned seem more for older children, and teens.  I know there's a book plugged on FTL entitled An Island Called Liberty , I wondered if anyone has read that. It's not available at our library right now, but would buy it if someone thought it was worth it.   
   I tried doing a general search through the library catalog while I was there, but nothing except things about 4th of July really seemed to come up in the children literature.

[Libertango]

I think I've read about half of the books listed in this thread, but there were a few others that came to mind immediately. 

Swiss Family Robinson
Robinson Crusoe
Boxcar Children Series

All three of these are about self-sufficiency, and how people can get along without government. 

The Encyclopedia Brown mystery book series, and the Hardy Boys series were really interesting.  Private detective agency, and two brothers which were effective at solving crimes, and if I recall correctly the police were generally inept in these series.

-Libertango

-Libertango

[HomeNow]

Pippi! And she has gold!