A Is for Anarchy

The blue-haired girl who scampers through the pages of A Rule Is to Break: A Child's Guide to Anarchy (Manic D) is endearing in a Where the Wild Things Are kind of way.

But when a conservative blog got wind of the fact that the skinny pink volume had been blurbed by Bill Ayers—described by the site as "teacher, Barack Obama's alleged terrorist pal, and grandpa"—the heroine became Public Enemy No. 1. While the furor was somewhat silly, so is the book.

Apparently concerned about kindergarteners' alienation from their labor, authors John Seven and Jana Christy urge them to strike: "When someone says 'Work!,' you say 'Why?'?" Also on the agenda: "Forget about grocery stores and get dirty in your garden." Anarchists should refuse to accept arbitrary rules, but that doesn't mean they can't participate in free markets or buy brand-name animal crackers. —Katherine Mangu-Ward