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The Children's Book of Virtues

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1995 anthology edited by William Bennett

The Children's Book of Virtues
EditorWilliam Bennett
IllustratorMichael Hague
LanguageEnglish
SubjectMorality
Genre
  • Anthology
  • Children's literature
PublisherSimon & Schuster
Publication dateOctober 1995
Publication placeUnited States
Pages111
ISBN0-684-81353-X

The Children's Book of Virtues is a 1995 anthology edited by conservative politician and commentator William Bennett and illustrated by Michael Hague. It collects 31 passages featured in the original Book of Virtues from 1993, and uses the original virtue list as the basis for four new sections. Bennett developed the follow-up amid concerns over the accessibility of the parent work towards younger readers, and teamed up with Hague, whom his wife recommended.

The Children's installment was published by Simon & Schuster in October 1995 to strong sales but mixed to negative reviews, and was accompanied by two other companion successors to the original; an animated follow-up, Adventures from the Book of Virtues, premiered on PBS in 1996. Hague would lend his talent to several more print installments until 2002. During a trademark infringement lawsuit, an unrelated company canceled a planned book of the same title in favor of Bennett's official work.

Overview

A spin-off from 1993's The Book of Virtues, The Children's Book of Virtues collects 31 passages previously featured in the original. Selections from Aesop's Fables, Robert Frost, Frank Crane, and African and Native American folklore are represented in this volume; the legend of George Washington's cherry tree (as related to Mason Locke Weems) makes an encore appearance. The stories are grouped into four sections utilizing the same categories from its parent book, all of which compiler William Bennett says represent "the essentials of good character": courage/perseverance, responsibility/work/self-discipline, compassion/faith, and honesty/loyalty/friendship.

Development

William Bennett developed The Children's Book of Virtues amid concerns that the original parent title was not as accessible to young readers. Feedback from parents who read the 1993 installment indicated that their children wanted pictures to accompany the stories. In response, Bennett's wife Elayne recommended children's illustrator Michael Hague for the task; she had previously read her children storybooks featuring his work.

Release

The Children's Book of Virtues was part of a trio of 1995 successors to the original Book of Virtues, alongside companion installments The Moral Compass and The Book of Virtues for Young People. It was published that October by Simon & Schuster with an initial print run of 500,000 copies, a figure that increased to 1,013,000 after four printings by the following month, and debuted at #20 on USA Today's Best-Selling Books. An Audio Treasury edition, running 60 minutes on tape and 70 on CD, was released in December 1995 alongside the print version.

Early in its release, USA Today, The New York Times, and The Washington Post all listed it as a nonfiction title. The first two papers would later reclassify it as fictional (in line with the disclaimer on its copyright page), while The Washington Post sided with bookstores and kept it in their nonfiction category (akin to the 1993 book). The news of this chart crossover came as a welcome surprise to Simon & Schuster's trade-division president Carolyn K. Reidy.

Reception

Response to The Children's Book of Virtues was mixed to negative. Kathy Canavan of Wilmington, Delaware's The News Journal observed its nostalgic flair and wrote that Hague's "retro-illustrations are a perfect fit for the classic tales." Jennifer L. Stevenson critiqued the collection with bookending rhymes in her review for The St. Petersburg Times, while also noting the limits of the selections' appeal to modern-day audiences ("For he's writing not for 1995, but 1899"). As Stevenson added:

Except for some carefully drawn illustrations that seem intent to include children of different races, this bland, boring book is a curiosity to an adult. To a youngster, it is a saccharine sweet abomination of mixed messages that might actually damage a child's sense of self-esteem rather than bolster it. A few tales are of moderate interest. Most are preachy and pompous — hardly the stuff for the pre-K set.

Sarah Nordgren of the Associated Press likewise doubted the appeal of the stories to 1990s readers and nitpicked their low diversity; she opined that its titular demographic " more important things on their mind" than considering the collection. Laura Shapiro of Newsweek said that, with this volume, "Virtue has never seemed less appealing." While finding it "rather cumbersome", Shareem Amry of Malaysia's New Straits Times recommended it for parents, and wrote that Hague's work was "the real star of the whole project".

Legal issues

In August 1995, weeks before the official Bennett follow-ups were published, Simon & Schuster sued Dove Entertainment for infringement on the Virtues trademark. Dove had released The Children's Audiobook of Virtues earlier that year, with plans for their own Children's Book of Virtues later on. As part of the suit, Dove withdrew the titles from the market; their decision was upheld in court when the infringement charges were confirmed, invoking the Lanham Act. By October, they were "ordered to pay S&S and Bennett all of profits on the infringing audiobooks and to reimburse them for certain legal costs."

Legacy

In 1996, the PBS animated series Adventures from the Book of Virtues followed in the wake of 1995's child-oriented Virtues spin-offs. Hague would go on to illustrate five more follow-up titles in Bennett's series: The Children's Book of Heroes (1997), The Children's Book of America (1998), The Children's Book of Faith (2000), The Children's Treasury of Virtues (2000), and The Children's Book of Home and Family (2002).

References

  1. ^ Donahue, Deirdre (October 26, 1995). "William Bennett's volumes of virtue". USA Today. p. 4.D. Retrieved September 4, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  2. ^ Shapiro, Laura (November 13, 1995). "Review: 'The Children's Book of Virtues'". Newsweek. Vol. 126, no. 20. p. 86F. ISSN 0028-9604. Retrieved September 4, 2024 – via Gale General One File.
  3. ^ Amry, Shareem (March 2, 1996). "Morals stuffed with fun". New Straits Times. p. 9. Retrieved September 3, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  4. ^ Stevenson, Jennifer L. (October 22, 1995). "For shame, Billy Bennett (Series: Books)". The St. Petersburg Times. p. 4.D. Retrieved September 3, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ Paulos, John Allen (November 14, 1993). "If Everybody Knows So Much About Education, Why Doesn't Education Work?". The New York Times Book Review. p. 14. ISSN 0028-7806. Archived from the original on August 17, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ Canavan, Kathy (December 19, 1995). "Book review: Moral parables to nurture children's sense of virtue". Life & Leisure. The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware. p. D1. Retrieved October 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Nordgren, Sarah (November 6, 1995). "New kids' books diverse group". The Free-Lance Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. Associated Press. p. D5. Retrieved October 7, 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  8. Petrek, Melissa Marie (November 10, 1995). "Books: Capsule Reviews: 'The Children's Book of Virtues'". Austin American-Statesman. p. F8. Retrieved October 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Hance, Mary (November 15, 1995). "'Book of Virtues' perfect for young one". Nashville Banner. p. C.3. Archived from the original on August 17, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  10. Paterson, Katherine (October 15, 1995). "Family Values: Advice on how to raise ethical children from William J. Bennett and a prominent rabbi". The New York Times Book Review: 32. ISSN 0028-7806. Archived from the original on August 17, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  11. Oder, Norman (October 16, 1995). "The spawn of 'Virtues': a successor from S&S, a rival from HarperCollins". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 242, no. 42. p. 22. ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved September 2, 2024 – via Gale General OneFile.
  12. Maryles, Daisy (November 13, 1995). "Behind the bestsellers: Virtue sells". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 242, no. 46. p. 20. ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved September 4, 2024 – via Gale General OneFile.
  13. Bauers, Sandy (December 10, 1995). "Audio Books: Christmas Tapes Abound with Spirit of Season". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. K.5. Retrieved October 7, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  14. Rauzin, Erica Meyer (December 15, 1995). "Children's Books". Jewish Exponent. p. 3X. Retrieved October 7, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  15. "Book Notes: Fiction, Nonfiction or Both?". The New York Times. November 8, 1995. p. C.17. Retrieved September 4, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  16. ^ "S&S challenges Dove book". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 242, no. 34. August 21, 1995. p. 11. ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved September 3, 2024 – via Gale General OneFile.
  17. "Court bars Dove from 'Virtues' titles". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 244, no. 29. July 21, 1997. p. 108. ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved September 3, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  18. Angel, Karen (February 23, 1998). "Want to call your novel 'War and Peace'? No problem". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 245, no. 8. p. 23. ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved September 3, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  19. "S&S wins lawsuit against Dove". Publishers Weekly. Vol. 244, no. 41. October 6, 1997. p. 36. ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved September 3, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  20. "Clean TV". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 8, 1995. p. 2. Archived from the original on August 17, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  21. Abate, Michelle Ann (2010). "'Give Me Some of That Old-Time Reading': William Bennett's The Book of Virtues and the Rise of Right-Leaning Literature for Young Readers". Raising Your Kids Right. Rutgers University Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-8135-4995-8. Retrieved October 7, 2024 – via Project MUSE.

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