I HAVE THE RIGHT TO CULTURE

Children’s rights include participation in the artistic and cultural worlds.

The French creators of I Have the Right To Be a Child (2012) and I Have the Right To Save My Planet (2021) imagine what it means to “respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and…encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity” (Article 31, U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1990). With vibrant art and fanciful, appealing examples, Fronty and Serres invite children into a world of creativity. Short text blocks are set directly on colorful, naïve illustrations—sometimes panels, sometimes spreads filled with humans, old and young, in all their variety, doing interesting things. In Tanaka’s smooth translation, the writer regularly repeats the phrase, I have the right to, as he considers creating, performing, and appreciating music, arts, dance, history, science, culture, and literature from around the world. He asks questions of and addresses young readers directly, with child-friendly examples. No, we cannot buy the works of art in a museum; no one else could enjoy them. (The dubious provenance of much of the works in the world’s museums is not addressed.) Finally, not every child has the privilege of enjoying art and culture: “The child who could not experience any of this would have every right to be angry…these treasures of humanity, should be shared.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An inviting and thought-provoking look at a children’s right probably not often considered.