ABSTRACT
The original impetus for this romp through children’s literature was to illustrate a method of curriculum theorizing, no less theoretical than the usual, but more accessible to classroom teachers as a technique, and more useful in guiding classroom practice. As I mentioned in Chapter 1, I could have chosen any works of literature, just as I expanded the idea of texts to include children’s animated television programs and web community participation. The critical move in this work is to use the generativity of the metaphors established by the relationships and symbols in the stories to raise important questions about your work. Some teachers find the metaphoric application of popular culture and everyday life exciting and productive. Others devalue such resources. Like many people, they may seek the status of high culture and shun the low status of popular art forms and literature written for children. Yet, like the cook I conjured in the first chapter, we have much to accomplish if we play with soup and sauce, cookies and cakes.
