Child's Play at the Wolfsonian

http://wolfsonian.fiu.edu

Join The Wolfsonian-Florida International University as it presents CHILD’S PLAY: Propaganda Puzzles, War Games, and Children’s Books on display in the Green Library at the Florida International University Park Campus through January 22, 2008. The exhibition organized by The Wolfsonian's chief librarian Francis Luca features children's propaganda books, magazines, board games, puppets, and puzzles created as a means to enlist even the youngest members of a nation in the broader cause of the war effort. A reception and talk to celebrate the opening of the exhibition will be held in the Green Library on Thursday, January 17 at 3pm.

During the early twentieth century, both democratic and totalitarian countries introduced children to political and war-related messages through books, magazines, and games that transformed war into “child's play.” In some books, children are depicted as actual combatants; in others, young readers are encouraged to actively support the war through participation in scrap drives or by saving coins to buy victory stamps. Games also aimed at instilling patriotism, glorifying national heroes, and training future combatants in the strategies and art of war.