After doing a few searches on the web, I found that this subtext is one that is hotly debated by both laypeople and academics. And, to this English major, the discussion of the ordinary Janes and Joes duking it out in the Amazon reviews is even better than the scholarly analysis.
Here are some choice comments from Amazon:
"This book is too scary for my whole family. My child is now traumatized and needs mental help."
"How could anyone write a bad review of these priceless books? Does anyone really believe these stories will lead children to think that it is a good idea to go off with someone who throws a sack over their head?"
"Just because it's old doesn't mean it's good."
"After a couple readings...it became very clear that Curious George has the same exact story line, less than thinly disguised, that White Southerners used to tell about African Southerners. A relic from a bygone era, its continuing popularity is no doubt related to its consistent use of our always popular traditional conservative American prejudice and ignorance."
"I...was shocked at the underlying negativity. How a cute little monkey is ripped from his family and homeland and tries to acclimate unsuccessfully to his new surroundings resonates uncomfortably with the accounts of African slave experiences. This is not entertaining by any means, and I think it would give a child nightmares."
"I'm not sure what happened to the sweet, funny story that I remembered reading as a child. Instead, George is stolen from where he belongs, with his mother (always a good topic at bedtime!), and then, faced with a strange new world in which he doesn't fit in, manages to get into a lot of trouble with people who don't understand why a monkey doesn't function well in western human society."
"Little Black Sambo was once considered a classic, but I'm glad my parents spared me."
For my part, I'll probably keep reading Curious George to Harrison. He thinks the picture of captured George with his head poking out of a bag is HILARIOUS.
Hopefully that doesn't mean he's going to join the Aryan youth movement.
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