How do children's books relate to the cultures that produce them, and how do they influence those cultures? In Reading Race Clare Bradford looks at representations of Australia's indigenous peoples in texts for children. She shows how these varying representations have helped to colour the attitudes, beliefs and assumptions of different generations of Australians. To what extent have children's books enabled readers to understand Aboriginal culture, relations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, and relationships between Aboriginality and national identity? Bradford draws on examples from popular and literary children's books of all genres-fiction, non-fiction, picture books and school texts. She reveals that many children's books display the tensions and uncertainties inherent in relations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Bradford also uncovers the different ideologies of race that have informed Australian children's texts from the nineteenth century to currently popular writers, demonstrating cultural shifts in the representation of Aboriginality over time. The result is a ground-breaking and intelligent picture of how Australian ch
- ISBN13 9780522849547
- Publish Date 8 July 1997
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country AU
- Imprint Melbourne University Press
- Format Paperback (UK Trade)
- Pages 292
- Language English