Three children’s books on the defense of our rights

> The hens show their teeth

The hens have a notable advantage over other categories of workers: they are both their own tool and their own subject of work. They therefore have control over the means of production. In other words, if they go on strike for eggs, the farmers who exploit them are very annoyed, and have little other solution than to accede to their demands. This is what Bertille and Balthazar do, who, faced with the ire of the doyenne of the birds, build a spacious and cozy henhouse. And won the omelet contest in stride. Everyone comes out a winner… like in real life?

> A few golden rules

In the “Explain to me” collection, Nathan didactically explores themes of collective life: Rules for living together, racism and intolerance, Protect the Earth… In this opus, it is about universal rights. It explains that the desire (for new toys for example) is different from the need, and that these needs are protected by rights: access to care, knowledge, work, justice, freedom of belief… It says that some countries do not guarantee the rights of their citizens, and that we are not all equal in the world. Simple, fair words, to open your eyes to the great laws that govern us.

> Hard fought

It’s a nice idea, and a nice realization. A chaptered book, which tells in simple words, in a sometimes elliptical way, of the great peaceful protest movements: the Rosa Parks bus boycott, Gandhi’s “salt march”, the Liberian women’s movement for peace or Black Lives Matter again. The illustrations are superb, colorful and animated, punctuated by cut-outs in the pages. Enough to make you want to invent slogans.