It Takes a Village (1996)

It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us is a book published in 1996 by the then First Lady of the United States Hillary Clinton. In it, Clinton presents her vision for the children of America. She focuses on the impact individuals and groups outside the family have, for better or worse, on a child's well-being, and advocates a society which meets all of a child's needs. The book was written with uncredited ghostwriter Barbara Feinman.

The book was republished as a Tenth Anniversary Edition in 2006 and saw publication as a picture book in 2017.

History

Publishers had approached Clinton since the spring of 1994 with the idea of writing a book, and announcement of the upcoming book came in April 1995 from the publisher she chose, Simon & Schuster. It came in the wake of the Clinton health care plan of 1993, which she had led the effort for and which had suffered its final collapse in September 1994, and the book was seen by some observers as an effort to help reshape Clinton's image. It was not unusual for a First Lady to write a book while still in office, with Barbara Bush's children-aimed Millie's Book the most recent prior example. Eleanor Roosevelt was the first First Lady to write books while still in office, with the publication of It's Up to the Women in 1933, This Troubled World in 1938, and The Moral Basis of Democracy in 1940, among others. Carolyn Reidy, head of Simon & Schuster's trade books division, said: "We have all known that Hillary Rodham Clinton has devoted most of her career to issues of children. But outside of a handful of articles and speeches, her thoughts on these issues have not been available to everyone in an easily readable format. I think it will be an inspiring book." The book was originally intended to come out in September 1995 but delays on the part of Clinton resulted in publication being delayed until January 1996.

It was stated that Clinton would take no payments from the writing other than those to cover expenses, and that royalties from the book's sales would go to charity. In January 1996, Clinton went on a ten-city book tour and made numerous television appearances to promote the book, although she was frequently hit with questions about her involvement in the Whitewater and Travelgate controversies.

The book spent 18 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List during 1996 including three weeks at number one. By 2000 it had sold 450,000 copies in hardcover and another 200,000 in paperback.

The theme of the book, at least as perceived from its title, aroused immediate opposition within the United States. A well known instance of this occurred during the 1996 presidential election when, during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Republican Party nominee Bob Dole said that with all due respect, I am here to tell you, it does not take a village to raise a child. It takes a family to raise a child." Criticism of Clinton's notion would continue to be made by American conservatives, including Rush Limbaugh, Andrea Tantaros, and Jonah Goldberg, through the next two decades.

In 1997, Clinton received a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for her audio recording of the book. The book appears in Clinton’s official First Lady portrait; this portrait was painted by Simmie Knox and unveiled in 2004. In it the book is depicted on a table next to a framed picture of the White House. In 2005, Senator Rick Santorum wrote a rebuttal to the book, It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good.

Contents

Introduction

It Takes a Village

No Family Is an Island

Every Child Needs a Champion

The Bell Curve Is a Curve Ball

Kids Don't Come with Instructions

The World Is in a Hurry, Children Are Not

An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Intensive Care

Security Takes More Than a Blanket

The Best Tool You Can Give Your Child Is a Shovel

Children Are Born Believers

Childhood Can Be a Service Academy

Kids Are an Equal Employment Opportunity

Child Care Is Not a Spectator Sport

Education = Expectations

Seeing Is Believing

Every Business Is a Family Business

Children Are Citizens Too

Let Us Build a Village Worthy of Our

Synopsis

The book emphasizes the shared responsibility that society has for successfully raising children, by looking at a number of angles as indicated in the chapter titles noted above. Clinton describes herself in the book as a Moderate, which is evidenced by a combination of advocating for government-driven social reforms while also espousing conservative values. Clinton observes in the book many institutions responsible in some way for raising children, including: direct family, grandparents, neighbors, teachers, ministers, doctors, employers, politicians, nonprofits, faith communities, businesses, and international governmental groups. Some of the goals and institutions that Clinton advocates for in the book include: the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, Community Policing, the Brady Bill, Amber alerts, immunizations, State Children's Health Insurance Program, financial regulation, expanded Child Tax Credits, Minimum Wage increases, Universal health care, personal responsibility, uniforms in schools, Goals 2000 academic framework, music warning labels, sexual abstinence, Plan B contraception, family planning, and marriage.

Proverb question

The book's title is attributed to the African proverb "It takes a village to raise a child". The saying and its attribution as an "African" proverb were in circulation before it was adopted by Clinton as the source for the title of her book. The saying previously provided the source for the title of a children's book entitled It Takes a Village by Jane Cowen-Fletcher, published in 1994.