The Wisdom(?) of Children’s Literature

This is a course for people who want to discuss children’s books. We will read three books and, communally, make determinations about whether they reveal anything about what it means to be human. Some key questions: Do the books have anything to do with life? Should stories have a moral? What’s the deal with animals? Can adults as well as children learn anything from these stories? There will be an introductory class, followed by two sessions on each book.

Required reading: Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, ISBN 978-0486407852; Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, ISBN 978-0156012195; 
E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web, ISBN 978-0064410939. 

Raymond Boisvert grew up in Lewiston and spent over 30 years teaching philosophy at the college level.