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When We Were Free to Be: Looking Back at a Children's Classic and the Difference It Made
If you grew up in the era of mood rings and lava lamps, you probably remember "Free to Be . . . You and Me"--the groundbreaking children's record, book, and television special that debuted in 1972. Conceived by actress and producer Marlo Thomas and promoted by "Ms." magazine, it captured the spirit of the growing women's movement and inspired girls and boys to challenge stereotypes, value cooperation, and respect diversity. In this lively collection marking the fortieth anniversary of "Free to Be . . . You and Me," thirty-two contributors explore the creation and legacy of this popular children's classic.
Featuring a prologue by Marlo Thomas, "When We Were Free to Be" offers an unprecedented insiders' view by the original creators, as well as accounts by activists and educators who changed the landscape of childhood in schools, homes, toy stores, and libraries nationwide. Essays document the rise of non-sexist children's culture during the 1970s and address how "Free to Be" still speaks to families today.
Contributors are Alan Alda, Laura Briggs, Karl Bryant, Becky Friedman, Nancy Gruver, Carol Hall, Carole Hart, Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Joe Kelly, Cheryl Kilodavis, Dionne Kirschner, Francine Klagsbrun, Stephen Lawrence, Laura L. Lovett, Courtney Martin, Karin A. Martin, Tayloe McDonald, Trey McIntyre, Peggy Orenstein, Leslie Paris, Miriam Peskowitz, Deesha Philyaw, Abigail Pogrebin, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Robin Pogrebin, Patrice Quinn, Lori Rotskoff, Deborah Siegel, Jeremy Adam Smith, Barbara Sprung, Gloria Steinem, and Marlo Thomas.
324 pages, Hardcover
First published November 27, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 27, 2013
Oh, the feels! Only two pages into the introduction and overwhelmed with longing. I immediately went upstairs and put on the record. (The 33 1/3 LP with the original magic marker covered jacket, that is.)
"When we grow up, I'm gonna be happy, and do what I like to do. Like making noise and making faces, and making friends like you."
The world was wide open, and what a world we thought it was going to be. We thought racial and class and gender inequality were going to be overcome by the time I grew up. There are many days when I am astounded by how little progress we've made.
I am beginning to think I better understand our patrons who love to read everything about the Kennedys or need to devour every WW2 tome. 1970s feminist child rearing and the 1980s it shaped -- I lived this, I remember this, I utterly groove on reminiscing this.
Essays I especially liked in this collection:
Letty Cottin Pogrebin's A Thousand Fond Memories and a Few Regrets: Pogrebin reminds us to make a "collective committment" and to organize together to do away with what's "unfair, inequitable, and intolerable." To ask ourselves what project we can initiate, what wrongs can we right, if we only just pick one friend and get started.
Here's a gem for those of us involved in children's literacy from Gloria Steinem, who experienced kids mouthing the words along with her as she read them stories and poems from Free to Be: "No one can tell children what to remember. It must be what they love."
I also really enjoyed Rotskoff's Little Women's Libbers and Free to be Kids. I love that the editors of Ms. saved and published letters they received from children, and hearing the stories of kids who challenged gender inequalities in their towns and schools and felt supported by this wider national network.
Two notes of things I want to remember: The magazine New Moon Girls was directly inspired by Free to Be, and the Trey MacIntyre project is working on choreography based on the Free to Be concepts. I've given several gift subscriptions to NMG, and I want to keep my eyes open and see if that ballet comes anywhere near here!
"When we grow up, I'm gonna be happy, and do what I like to do. Like making noise and making faces, and making friends like you."
The world was wide open, and what a world we thought it was going to be. We thought racial and class and gender inequality were going to be overcome by the time I grew up. There are many days when I am astounded by how little progress we've made.
I am beginning to think I better understand our patrons who love to read everything about the Kennedys or need to devour every WW2 tome. 1970s feminist child rearing and the 1980s it shaped -- I lived this, I remember this, I utterly groove on reminiscing this.
Essays I especially liked in this collection:
Letty Cottin Pogrebin's A Thousand Fond Memories and a Few Regrets: Pogrebin reminds us to make a "collective committment" and to organize together to do away with what's "unfair, inequitable, and intolerable." To ask ourselves what project we can initiate, what wrongs can we right, if we only just pick one friend and get started.
Here's a gem for those of us involved in children's literacy from Gloria Steinem, who experienced kids mouthing the words along with her as she read them stories and poems from Free to Be: "No one can tell children what to remember. It must be what they love."
I also really enjoyed Rotskoff's Little Women's Libbers and Free to be Kids. I love that the editors of Ms. saved and published letters they received from children, and hearing the stories of kids who challenged gender inequalities in their towns and schools and felt supported by this wider national network.
Two notes of things I want to remember: The magazine New Moon Girls was directly inspired by Free to Be, and the Trey MacIntyre project is working on choreography based on the Free to Be concepts. I've given several gift subscriptions to NMG, and I want to keep my eyes open and see if that ballet comes anywhere near here!
January 19, 2016
I did not finish it. It was just not what I wanted. I was interested in a look back at FREE TO BE . . . YOU AND ME, with discussions of its development and the issues it addressed. But instead it was just a lot of pounding of feminist ideology into my head. Listen. Full disclosure. I am a liberal. A real liberal. The kind rightwingers hate on sight. But even I got exhausted by this book, and finally said enough was enough. If I couldn't handle this book, I can only imagine how much rightwingers will hate it.
May 29, 2022
Back when I was in about Grade Four, our teacher took our class to the staff room so that we could listen to the songs on the FREE TO BE...YOU AND ME record album. I don't remember much about the songs and I don't think I knew about or managed to tune into the TV special, but I do remember the buoyant sense of possibility: the sense that progress was inevitable and the world would only get better.
I miss that feeling.
I picked up a copy of this book because I was eager to learn more about how this project came into being and what its impact was over the longer term. The editors of this collection do a great job of putting the FREE TO BE...YOU AND ME project into historical context, pointing out where it made a big difference and where it fell short. All in all a fascinating collection of essays about a memorable project and a memorable moment in time.
I miss that feeling.
I picked up a copy of this book because I was eager to learn more about how this project came into being and what its impact was over the longer term. The editors of this collection do a great job of putting the FREE TO BE...YOU AND ME project into historical context, pointing out where it made a big difference and where it fell short. All in all a fascinating collection of essays about a memorable project and a memorable moment in time.
April 7, 2014
For anyone interested in this book, I would recommend reading this Slate article:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/do...
Then skip the first 2 sections of the book, where the essays give you an appreciation of the making of "Free to Be" but can be repetitive. Read the "Parents are People" section. My favorite essay was Jeremy Adam Smith's "Free to Be the Dads We Want to Be." His writing is excellent and I really enjoyed his perspective.
This book had some good resource ideas for raising "Free to Be" kids these days, including New Moon Girls magazine for tween girls, child' picture book, "My Princess Boy", and the blog "Raising my Rainbow."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/do...
Then skip the first 2 sections of the book, where the essays give you an appreciation of the making of "Free to Be" but can be repetitive. Read the "Parents are People" section. My favorite essay was Jeremy Adam Smith's "Free to Be the Dads We Want to Be." His writing is excellent and I really enjoyed his perspective.
This book had some good resource ideas for raising "Free to Be" kids these days, including New Moon Girls magazine for tween girls, child' picture book, "My Princess Boy", and the blog "Raising my Rainbow."
May 23, 2013
As a "Free to Be" kid, I'd never thought much about the influence the book and record had on me. It was interesting to read about where it came from and reflect on how I'd incorporated these principles into my life and the way I bring up my own kids. I didn't agree with every conclusion in the book; some were repetitive and a few I found downright ridiculous, but I appreciate the careful regard that went into reconsidering Free to Be after 40 years.
January 31, 2017
An interesting conversation starter kind of book.
August 23, 2018
Wasn't That a Time... And After
This brings back fond memories. I had the album as a child so of course I bought the tape (remember tapes?) to play in the car and bought the book to read to my own children. The introduction tells us that Free to Be You and Me "dramatically changed the way in which parents and children thought (and continue to think) about gender roles and social equality" and "taught children to value cooperation and resist blind conformity to social expectations". The intent of the book is to reflect 40(!) years later on the impact the project had on American social and cultural values.
The content consists of 35 short autobiographical pieces. The essays in the first section were written by some of the key people behind the Free To Be project while the rest of the book talked about the effect of the Free to Be message on the authors' lives. It was especially gratifying to read the contributions by Marlo Thomas, Carol Hart, Carol Hall, Alan Alda, Francis Klagsbrun which rendered a history of the creative origins and thoughtful pedagogy behind Free to Be. Of the remaining items most dealt with gender followed by self esteem with diversity coming in a distant third.
Most of the contributions were obtained from members of or related to the original inner circle and were, as I indicated, personal stories and not a look at the wider impact on society at large, the exception being Karen Martin's survey of parenting material. (pp176) And only 3 of the essays deal directly with the follow up "Free to Be a Family", Clark Kent's issues with accepting his adoption being one of my favorites.
IMV this book missed a greater objective by not going beyond personal recollections and looking at large scale changes in attitudes. Many of the essays while individually interesting are redundant in terms of repeating a similar message. It was a pleasant read, but recommended for a library read and not for purchase as a keepsake.
This brings back fond memories. I had the album as a child so of course I bought the tape (remember tapes?) to play in the car and bought the book to read to my own children. The introduction tells us that Free to Be You and Me "dramatically changed the way in which parents and children thought (and continue to think) about gender roles and social equality" and "taught children to value cooperation and resist blind conformity to social expectations". The intent of the book is to reflect 40(!) years later on the impact the project had on American social and cultural values.
The content consists of 35 short autobiographical pieces. The essays in the first section were written by some of the key people behind the Free To Be project while the rest of the book talked about the effect of the Free to Be message on the authors' lives. It was especially gratifying to read the contributions by Marlo Thomas, Carol Hart, Carol Hall, Alan Alda, Francis Klagsbrun which rendered a history of the creative origins and thoughtful pedagogy behind Free to Be. Of the remaining items most dealt with gender followed by self esteem with diversity coming in a distant third.
Most of the contributions were obtained from members of or related to the original inner circle and were, as I indicated, personal stories and not a look at the wider impact on society at large, the exception being Karen Martin's survey of parenting material. (pp176) And only 3 of the essays deal directly with the follow up "Free to Be a Family", Clark Kent's issues with accepting his adoption being one of my favorites.
IMV this book missed a greater objective by not going beyond personal recollections and looking at large scale changes in attitudes. Many of the essays while individually interesting are redundant in terms of repeating a similar message. It was a pleasant read, but recommended for a library read and not for purchase as a keepsake.
July 7, 2020
I grew up with Free to Be You and Me. While reading the book, I had to play the Youtube videos of the songs as they were being discussed and, of course, I remembered all the words. I have always loved the background stories of anything and everything, and this book of essays written by the people involved with the Free to Be project was wonderful. Many of them were repetitive in their theme, but there a twist in each one to make it unique. The whole idea of feminism, gender identity, making choices is still prevalent today in families, classrooms and the workplace. Parents and teachers are still looking for books to represent or provide role models for certain groups of people. That hasn't changed. The message is still the same, but it was interesting to see how some of the creator's perspectives have changed. An interesting read, for sure.
September 26, 2023
Skimmed some of the essays
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews