ABSTRACT
A children’s story, however trivial it might be, is more than just a story. Because stories grow out of particular cultures and societies at particular points in time, they reflect the values of these societies, “to imagine a story…is to imagine the society in which it is told.” (Dowling 115). Therefore, stories that are woven out of the imagination of their writers are part of a larger body of stories, which together form a kind of national allegory that gives expression to the dreams, desires and fears of a particular culture. Since children are the future of any society, the literature adults write for them is a conscious effort to shape the ideology of its readers. The socialization and politicization of children’s literature has been and still is a reality in children’s books. Roderick McGillis has argued that “Children and their books are ideological constructs” (106) and that the publishing industry is continuously “perpetuat[ing] the values and cultural conceptions of the ruling group” (112). The role of children’s texts is to help acculturate children into society and to teach them to behave and believe in acceptable norms.
