10 Classic Children's Books That Are Actually Racist

4. The Chronicles Of Narnia

"What could be racist about a lion standing in for Jesus?" you cry. Well, nothing in particular, but it's rather telling that the C.S. Lewis stories that are most well-known and have been adapted into other media are the ones that are populated more or less entirely with white people (or, you know, talking animals). In a slightly dodgier area are the books featuring the Calormenes, a dark-skinned race of people with long beards, pointy shoes and turbans who live in the southern lands of Narnia and worship a demon-god named Tash. Oh, and most of them are cruel, terrible people. In The Horse And His Boy, for example, the lead Shasta runs away from home when his adoptive Calormene father decides that he wants to sell him into slavery. Most Calormenes are characterised as being selfish and mean-spirited, which is probably why they're okay with performing human sacrifices in the name of Tash. The only members of the race who actually beggar any kind of sympathy are those who renounce their race, culture and faith and accept the teachings of Aslan... which is kind of heavy even for Lewis.