Napoleon vs. the Bunnies

After teaching a seminar on Napoleon Bonaparte in 2019, I was invited to consult on this book. I had devoured historical parables as a child and my own kids were beginning to show an interest. My son was our first reviewer, and his deceptively simple follow-up—"So was Napoleon a good guy or a bad guy?"— inspired the final pages, where young readers are encouraged to start thinking critically about the past. This little side project allowed me to combine my parental and professional interests in rewarding ways, confirming that children have a strong appetite and aptitude for history and historical thinking. It also gave me a child’s-eye view of ongoing debates over curricular reforms and the commemoration of history’s “great men,” which in France have focused largely on how to appropriately mark the bicentennial of Napoleon’s death.