The Gigantic Turnip | Children’s Literature Criticism: Making Meaning and Book Bans

Happy Pride! People—and by that we mean corporations—often start Pride off strong and end with a whimper. But we recognize that while Pride is about pride, it's also about resistance. And resistance is a very, very long-form game.Today's episode looks at four picture book iterations of a classic Russian folktale, The Gigantic Turnip: One from the USSR; one from modern Russia; one from Britain in the 90s; and one from the US a few years back. How do these various versions of the story change its meaning? Does the central core of the story itself contain its own meaning that resists translation and adaptation? Most importantly this month, how does literature's ability to be interpreted, to gain meaning from the very act of reading, consternate the job of government censors?It's the episode where we modestly propose that if you want to ban books, you might as well ban them all! Give it a listen, and if you like what you hear, give us a follow and review! ---Visit us at http://www.toddlingthestacks.com for previous episodes, info on the show, and what Adalyn is reading now! If you like the episode, please subscribe and share with friends!YT: https://www.youtube.com/@ToddlingTheStacksInsta: https://www.instagram.com/toddlingthestacks/BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/toddlingthestacks.comFB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61588725012180Show graphics by Emily Tetrault. Theme and interstitials excerpted from Erik Satie's Gnossienne #1. All book images used under the Fair Use exceptions to exclusive copyright as defined under Title 17, subsection 107,  of US Code.