La-Biliotheque-rose, children, and imperialism in nineteenth-century France

La Bibliotheque rose illustree, a collection of children's works published from mid-nineteenth century, is a useful corpus to study constructions of childhood. Focused on family life and sentimental education, the novels often use figures of the Other to shape children's developing self-identity. This study of four novels from the collection shows how images of colonial experiences taught about racism, power, and gender. Ultimately, portraits of the colonized were exploited to acculturate French children, and children's literature functioned as a colonizing tool to assimilate the young into their broader culture.