As an active volunteer at the Enoch Pratt Free Library and also a specialist on the life and writing of Laura Ingalls Wilder, I was dismayed at the choice made by the Association for Library Service to Children to remove Wilder’s name from the legacy award established in 1954 to honor her and her classic series of children’s novels known collectively as the “Little House” books (“Association removes Laura Ingalls Wilder’s name from award,” June 27). Yes, there is some racism expressed in the books, but the author was reflecting, unfortunately, the stereotyped attitudes toward Native Americans and African-Americans prevalent at the time in which the books are set. Comments like these that illustrate the culture of the day and offer excellent “teaching moments” for parents and teachers, as they discuss with their children what was “then” and what is “now.”
About a decade before her death in 1957, Wilder expressed this thought: “We cannot take our opinions from our fathers nor even keep the opinions we formed for ourselves a few years ago. Times and things move too fast.” (Quote from “Words from a Fearless Heart,” Stephen W. Hines, editor.) Would that Wilder were around today to express her thoughts on racism. Would she choose to remove or modify the “offending” statements or retain them as accurate reflections of the times?
Ann Weller Dahl, Baltimore
