Well, this is certainly an interesting entry – The Tao of Pooh seems to occupy a space somewhere between fiction and non-fiction. I had friends in high school who were assigned this book, and were upset to be reading “kiddy books,” only to be surprised at the depth of Taoist philosophy present in the book – something that they were entirely unfamiliar with. I had the same experience reading it. If I were to teach this book, I would make it a priority to immediately dispel the thoughts that this is just a book about Winnie the Pooh, which was kind of my expectation when I picked it up.
Despite containing fictional characters who appear in the actual narration of the book, The Tao of Pooh is much more like a piece of literary criticism than anything. Most of the bare-bones traits of fiction are missing here – plot, character growth, conflict. In a way, the absence of conflict is a reflection of the philosophy that the book endorses and teaches. However, there are still some remnants of fiction in the book. Voice is a constant presence, as Pooh playfully interrupts the narrator, drifting in and out of the conversation. The book is also extremely well-organized. The different tenets of Taoism that The Tao Of Pooh sets out to explain are each allotted a chapter, which is full of both Pooh stories and Taoist stories.
This aspect of the book is extremely teachable. This may be one of the most fully standalone multicultural books I’ve ever read, as it goes deeply into two specific cultures, rather than glancing shallowly over several. Hoff seems intent on portraying both Taoism and the Western culture of Pooh as authentically as he can, and he relies on texts to ensure the authenticity.
Another extremely teachable element of The Tao of Pooh is its status as literary criticism. Perhaps my students will have been exposed to literary criticism by this point. Unfortunately, to the typical high school student, criticism that can be found in those big books in the library is stuffy, old, and dry. Although it is a fairly unique specimen, The Tao of Pooh provides an example of perfectly viable literary criticism – one that doesn’t drone or bury itself in literary references. It is criticism that can have fun, and this is what’s important for this introduction to the genre. Maybe students will be able to appreciate the value of the interconnectivity of the texts, opening them up to other helpful literary criticism that will deepen their thoughts about literature and strengthen their critical thinking skills.
One thing that I’m not so sure about is whether or not the teaching of this book would qualify as unwarranted teaching of religion. When my friends in school were assigned the book, they said it wasn’t really presented as a religious text. While it’s true that the book isn’t part of a canon, I find it somewhat offensive that the book was presented as a sort of distant explanation of Taoism – a summary of a dead religion, which is certainly not the case. However, to lean too far in the other direction is also troublesome. Of course, I wouldn’t be assessing students based on whether their actions are aligned with Taoism, but even to assess them on the content of the book would require that they understand and analyze the values of the religion, and I’m not sure how comfortable I am with pushing that as a required text. As valuable as I may find this book, I would have to make a judgment based on the school’s philosophy, the students in the class, and the approval of higher-ups and parents.
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