Hillaire Belloc's Cautionary Tales for Children (Links to an external site.) was published in 1907 and illustrated by Basil Blackwood. A newly released edition in 2002 features images by Edward Gorey. Along with Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, Belloc used light verse and the absurd to critique the didactic impulse of children's literature.
- Did any of these tales challenge your ideas about what children's literature should be? If so, which ones. If not, why?
- Read and discuss the introduction to the Tales. How does this influence your reading of the tales?
- Discuss the morals for Cautionary Tales and I Want My Hat Back. What do the morals "teach"?