I’ve been dragging my feet about addressing the Dr. Seuss controversy, mainly because I myself have mixed feelings. But after being asked by a few people what my thoughts are, I’ve decided to weigh in.
Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, was one of my favorite early childhood authors, and I shared my love for his whimsical books with my library storytime attendees throughout my twenty-six year career. I enjoyed reading Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, Yertle the Turtle, The Sneetches, Oh the Places You’ll Go, and of course, How the Grinch Stole Christmas to my young patrons and loved that many times they could recite passages along with me.
While I loved And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street as a child, looking at it through the eyes of an adult, I admit I was uncomfortable with the illustration of an Asian man, and so that was a book I did not feature. Then, a few years ago there started to be rumblings regarding some of Geisel’s earlier wartime political cartoons, as well as his illustrations for advertisements both before and after he became a children’s author. Many of these were derogatory toward multiple groups of persons of color, as well as Jews, Muslims, and women. Even worse, through a closer lens not clouded by nostalgia, these harmful stereotypes seeped into his some of his early children’s books, which leads us to the current “cancel culture” brouhaha. As you know I’m firmly against censorship, and after mulling this over the last few days, I’m reaffirming my stance in this case as well. I understand the harm and hurt racial, religious, and gender stereotypes can cause, especially in books meant for impressionable young minds, but it seems that rather than ceasing to publish these six books, perhaps we’d better serve children by sharing them and having discussions about the time period they were written in, why the illustrations and language are objectionable, and how no one is perfect, including our heroes. In addition, sharing some of the thousands of diverse picture books that have been published since Dr. Seuss passed away with young readers is absolutely essential, now more than ever. I’d also like to acknowledge that this isn’t a typical case of censorship as Dr. Seuss Enterprises owns the publishing rights and publishers cease publication of older books all the time. In this case though, they did so due to outside pressure which is why I’m equating it with censorship. This is of course my humble opinion, and I welcome hearing everyone else’s thoughts. I do want to share an article in The New York Times that I think excellently sums up the controversy and make some good points.
By Hook Or By Book 
I never read those books, and don’t think they were around over here when I was a child. I am not generally in favour of bans, or selective censorship. These could be used as a history lesson, about times when such things were not only considered to be acceptable, but hugely popular.
I fear that once you start banning such books, the lessons of history will start to be forgotten. When that happens, they are usually repeated.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Dr. Seuss books are among the very first I remember reading as a child. They were hugely popular then over here, and remain so now. I agree with your comment, especially the last two sentences.
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Head->Desk
These books have not been “banned” or “censored” . The owners of the copyright have decided to NOT PRINT THEM ANY MORE.
Your plea that ‘banning books’ leads to us ‘forgetting history’ makes me wonder, just what history it is that you think these books ‘preserve’??
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Bruce, while this particular case is complicated because Dr. Seuss Enterprises were the ones who decided to cease publication, I do believe it is to a degree a case of censorship as they did so at the behest of outside groups. Now, if they had come out and said they were no longer publishing the six books because they’re older and no longer popular, there wouldn’t have been an issue as publishers do this all the time.
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I do think we should stop rewriting history and, instead, discuss how attitudes change over time. If we ban books and tear down statues we are just destroying our memories of the past and it could lead to folk deleting our attitudes in the future.Noone who wrote long ago was insulting people now – they don’t need to be offended, just understanding and ready to explain.
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The Confederate flags and statues in public places where people who have been so hurt by what they represent, were forced to see them day after day, I understand because they were directly in front of their faces. Books however are different to me. I hope this doesn’t make me a hypocrite.
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I agree about the flags but not the statues. In GB they are tearing down slavers yet these people paid for educational foundations. I might feel differently if I lived in the USA.
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My feelings about the statues is not to destroy them but put them in museums.
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The confederate staues and monuments all over the United States are celebrating a fictional history…the post-Civil War mythos of the “Lost Cause”.
They were erected in the early 20th century in furtherance of white supremacy and Jim Crow laws.
They have nothing to do with actual history. They are monuments to vicious racial opression, and were never anything but.
It’s as if we had statues glorifying General Tojo, or monuments to the brave Wermacht Soldiers of WWII…
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Thanks Kim. I must confess, I have read countless Seuss books, countless times to my three children and niece and nephews. But, I have not read any of those. I used to be able to recite “The Cat in the Hat,” because my wife read that reading the same book for a stretch would be helpful. We abandoned that idea after a week.
I guess the way I look at this, is words are written in the context of the time and unfortunately they cannot be easily erased from all publications. The best example of this is the lesson of “Huckleberry Finn.,” whose key punch line is we are all the same, but it annually debated over its use of the N-word which helps prove Mark Twain’s point. Would it still do it without the use of the word?
I guess where I come down is what Senator John McCain said a year after losing to George W. Bush in the South Carolina primary, when he failed to address a key issue of 2000 regarding the Confederate flag flying at the SC capitol building. He later said he was wrong not to speak up, as if a flying a flag gives so much anguish to a group of people, then it should not be flown.
So, Dr. Seuss should not unduly tarnished, while still addressing language than needs to deleted or flagged.
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I commented to Julie that my feelings about the Confederate flag and statues in public places are a little different because so many people these symbols of hate have hurt, are forced to look at them every day, but for me, books are unique and while objectionable illustrations and text should be called out, they can still be used as teaching tools.
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Agreed. “To Kill a Mockingbird” remains one of the more impactful books I have ever read. Also seeing good theater can do the same I saw a community play of Huck Finn which was excellent, then of course is the play/ movie “South Pacific.” Keith
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I agree Kim…..they should be available but with adult permission….am not a fan of censorship at all…..but the blame being passed around is just silly….it was the rights owner that made the decision not some governmental agency. chuq
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Great point chuq. This isn’t a case of of book banning.
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Thanx Kim have a good day my friend chuq
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You too!🤗
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Hugz 😎
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Children have read Seuss for generations and yet I never heard one child say they were offended. They enjoyed the story, the rhyme and the cute drawings. The children don’t know anything about prejudice, etc – until we as adults teach them. Personally I am dismayed and thoroughly disgusted with society for bringing us to this point.
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The problem is GP, is that we do teach them. Children learn at a very young age about prejudice and bigotry in all their many forms. As a preschool teacher and then a children’s librarian, I saw countless instances of this. While I’m not familiar with the other books Dr. Seuss Enterprises has decided to no longer publish, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street definitely made me uncomfortable. In my experience, young children also aren’t likely to say they’re offended by a book or illustrations. They may feel uncomfortable, but they’re not likely to verbalize that to an adult.
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Agree with everything you say Kim, how can we learn from the. past if we hide the bits we don’t like or agree with.
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It definitely makes it difficult.
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I’m confused as to why the issue of cancel culture or censorship has even come up here. No outside forces are restricting distribution of the books; the books’ rights-holders have made their own decision to withdraw the books, which is their prerogative, whether other people like it or not. If as an author I decide to unpublish one of my own books, it really doesn’t matter if readers think the book should still be available; I hold the rights to the book, so it’s my decision.
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I understand what you’re saying, but I’m still considering partially censorship because Dr. Seuss Enterprises is doing this after meeting with educators. It is absolutely their right though. I just think there might have been a better way.
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It’s true that the books were withdrawn by the publisher and that they have the legal right to do so. However, the “cancel culture” issue is that they felt it necessary to do so, possibly to avoid harassment or opprobrium. It is called cancel culture, not cancel politics — the problem is practically never the government banning things (the First Amendment protects against that) but rather pressure, ostracism, and sometimes even threats being used against people who express unpopular opinions or even sometimes just make an innocent mistake, like using a gesture they didn’t realize is also used by white power groups.
In this case, the books reflect attitudes which were common at the time and are doubtless present in many works from the same period. If anything deemed offensive by today’s standards is pulled from circulation, then among other things, we’ll use a lot of valuable documentation of what earlier social attitudes were like.
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we’ll use = we’ll lose (typo)
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Well said.
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I can understand both sides of the argument but I believe your solution would be the best: keep them and talk about the issues. 🙋♀️🐝
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Thanks for your input Bee.
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My parents read me the Mulberry Street one all the time.
I may have a controversial opinion on these, but here goes. Why can’t they just edit/alter the offensive material instead of outright obliterating these books? I think it’s a bit short-sighted to go balls to the wall when they can just modify it.
In no way am I condoning the racist material within the books, but if a slight change can fix it, why not do that?
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Geisel himself edited the Asian man in the 70s, removing the yellow tint to his skin and changing “Chinaman” to Chinese man. The slits for eyes stayed though, and I don’t think he ever did anything with the objectionable illustrations and text in the other books. As far as Dr. Seuss Enterprises changing things, that’s a good point, although as they’re not the original author, would that also be a form of censorship? One thing that I believe is also worth mentioning is that except for And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, the other books aren’t his most popular one. I’d even hazard a guess that if they weren’t by Dr. Seuss, they probably would have stopped publishing them a while ago due to their age.
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Oh, I didnt know that! Wellll they need some more edits lol.
Hmm I believe it would count as censorship.
I agree with you. They probably wouldve stopped publishing them a while back if it wasnt Seuss.
I just know that a lot of people stand by the books as classics and to an extent I can agree with that.
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Thanks for your thoughts Jonny. This is a tricky case.
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Of course! Yeah, lots of conflicting thoughts on this one for sure!
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I too have struggled with this issue. I think most people would not discuss why the material is wrong with youngsters. Taking them off the market was the estate’s decision. That should be the end of that IMHO. I believe the offensive flags should not be flown and the statues belong in museums. I would abhor seeing monuments to Hitler in my daily life.
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I absolutely agree that Dr. Seuss Enterprises has every right to do as they see fit, however I do think many educators and parents would have discussed why the books could be harmful. I also agree with you about the flags and statues.
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I would abhor seeing monuments to Hitler in my daily life
This raises an important distinction to make. No one would want to see monuments honoring Hitler, but I also wouldn’t want to see Mein Kampf removed from circulation, even though it expresses racist attitudes far worse than the Dr Seuss books. Being able to read the ideas of evil people in their own words is an important part of being able to understand the truth of history. If all the material from Nazi Germany which expressed hateful attitudes were withdrawn from availability, we’d lose a lot of the evidence proving the reality of atrocities like the Holocaust — a serious problem, given that there are already people who deny that it happened.
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Thank you for presenting this difficult issue, Kim. I, too, opposed to censorship and book banning, but both terms do not apply in this case. Censorship denotes government intervention in a publishing decision; therein lies the danger.
You’ve given me an idea for another post, on which I’ll expand on my thinking—with due credit to you!
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I understand what you’re saying Annie, but I believe censorship in a way does apply here because Dr. Seuss Enterprises acted after meeting with educators and others. I don’t believe this is something they would have done on their own. Also, there are degrees of censorship and they don’t always start with the government. In case after case of books being pulled from school or public library shelves, these actions were taken at the behest of parents and local residents. I’m looking forward to reading your post!
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On second thought, the topic is being covered so fully from so many angles that I don’t feel I have anything worthwhile to add.
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I think every opinion matters Annie, and I do so enjoy reading your posts.
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Like your post and the NYT article.
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Thank you. I just added a little more to address that it was Dr. Seuss Enterprises who decided to cease publication.
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Very well said Kim. I agree with you totally. These are books that were written in a different time, although not acceptable caricature or illustration for sure, there is a lesson to be learned and we can use this to teach children. It is similar to pulling books written when the word “nigger” was used in them. We use these to teach about a terrible time in history.
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Huckleberry Finn keeps coming to mind.
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Yes, or To Kill a Mockingbird.
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I love that book!
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Terrific perspective. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks John.
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I am not in favour of this sort of thing, Kim. To me it is the first step towards burning books and taking away peoples freedom of choice. There is so much controversy over books now, I feel I must rush out an buy all my favourites before they disappear. You cannot change history and remembering it is a good warning against falling into the same traps in the future. It is better to explain to children what is inappropriate and has changed than to pretend it never happened.
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I agree Robbie.
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Interestingly enough, Kim, my son [18] had a different perspective. His view is that while this holds true for adult books read by adults who are old enough to understand and make mental allowances, it is not the same for children. He feels that it is better to change or withdraw children’s books if they contain any racially controversial language or pictures that could hurt youngsters. My son and I seldom see eye to eye on any subject and I thought his perspective was interesting and considerate.
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It’s always good to hear different views Robbie.
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Hear, hear! Kim, I agree with you. Censorship is never good. We learn by being exposed to everything (the good, the bad, and the ugly). When it comes to children, they are the ones who need to learn, and books that have stereotypical illustrations or language, are an opportunity for learning. As for Dr. Seuss, if his book is good, I read it aloud, including Mulberry Street. We can’t change the past. We learn from the past. This is true for children as well as adults.
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Thanks Jennie!
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You’re welcome, Kim!
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Thanks for your perspective, Kim. Like most issues, I can understand both sides of the issue. The wisest approach is not to ban books but to talk to children about the relevant issues surrounding them. Attitudes change through education, not bans.
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That’s my thinking Pete.
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I think the whole conversation about “censorship” and “cancel culture” is a bit ridiculous considering it’s literally a private enterprise that decided to stop publishing the books, not the government or something telling them to stop. I am typically against censorship, and would disagree if they were told to stop publishing, but since they made the decision on their own, I think it’s a good decision and stand by it.
I especially think it’s ridiculous that people are getting so upset over a bunch of random obscure books being pulled? I mean, it might be a bigger deal if it was like cat in the hat or green eggs and ham or something, but how many people upset at this decision have even read on beyond zebra?
I do think that we shouldn’t try to ban or hide away the mistakes of the past, but I think there’s a difference between a high school class having a nuanced discussion about the racism in huckleberry finn versus a four year old chinese girl seeing a caricature of a “chinaman” in what’s supposed to be a fun picture book, telling her that eating “with sticks” is zany and unusual. I’m Chinese and was made fun of for it in elementary school, and that illustration makes me pretty uncomfortable. I really don’t see the point in needing to keep reading it for 5 year old story time or whatever.
It’s not like we’re burning the books or declaring dr Seuss was a horrible person, but I really can’t see much of a downside to taking a racist book out of the library and freeing up space for a diverse book my four year old self could have seen herself in and loved.
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Thanks for your thoughtful reply Kay. While I take your point that it’s Dr. Seuss Enterprises who made the decision to cease publication, they did so at the behest of others, which is how most books which have been pulled from school and public library shelves. I do agree that this isn’t a typical case, although I believe there are degrees of censorship.
As far as the obscurity of the books go, while five of the books aren’t as well known, And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street is, particularly because it was Geisel’s first book. That said, I don’t think that’s really the point. The Cat in the Hat is also now being questioned.
As to your point regarding the hurt illustrations and text can cause, I absolutely agree. It’s why I never read And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street to my library story times.
In the end this is a nuanced case but I still believe the decision made is a form of censorship, and once you open that door it’s difficult to close again.
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It’s quite likely that demand for the withdrawn books will go up due to the controversy — the “forbidden fruit” effect.
Many things are unsuitable for children, but it’s parents and other adults in positions of responsibility who should handle that issue for children, rather than making such works unavailable to everybody including adults. As Mark Twain said, “censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak because a baby can’t chew one.”
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Yes, that’s already happening. Perfect quote!
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We cannot change what happened by deleting references to it. History tells us what happened. The ‘why’ is something else and as people have said, if we don’t discuss it, intellectually, it’ll be repeated. The ‘cancel culture’ is the easy way out for those who dont like something, but only temporarily.
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Censorship is wrong. I can’t buy some of Dr Suess books but I can buy Ayn Rand or Adolph Hitler.
As far as the removing statues of Confederate generals and changing the names of military bases, why would anyone, especially our government, want to honor traitors? I never heard of a statue of Benedict Arnold or a petition to change the name of West Point to Arnold.
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I absolutely agree Don.
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I came to the same conclusion also, Kim. I started my education career teaching preschool and kindergarten. We can turn every circumstance into a teaching opportunity to children. The young children and young adults don’t see colors or races, they only see people. The racial derogative judgement came later. Why single out Dr. Seuss’s books because it’s easier than going through hundreds and thousands of other not so popular books with the same controversies. With Seuss’s books, it gets more attention. It’s politic. The Seuss Enterprise didn’t want to waste the energy to fight the battle even if they can win the war.
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I agree Miriam. Seuss Enterprises wouldn’t have done this on their own.
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Oh well, Kim, those six books are not the most popular ones. They wouldn’t miss too much.
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Yes, although there are also complaints about Cat in the Hat. Plus, this sets a precedent now. What if the publisher of, say, Huckleberry Finn, now decides to follow suit?
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It’s ridiculous to complain about Cat in the Hat. Does it mean we can never say “I have a black cat?!”
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Critics charge he’s a caricature of a Black man in the 1920s Jazz era.
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It wouldn’t be as obvious as drawing a Chinese using the “sticks.” I don’t think Seuss would come back from the grave to explain about the Cat.
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Definitely not!
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Nooooo they CANNOT ban Dr Seuss, reminds me of 1984 and Hitler’s censorship. Thats pure ridiculous, no child became a racist, evil person because reading Green Eggs and Ham. No more Doctor Seuss, but Mein Kamf is okay. I don’t get that.
Soon our Dystopian Future novels will be banned because they hint where we are getting at.
God Bless You All. Remember, we had the most freedom when we (the founding fathers and original Americans) trusted in God. Times were hard, most likely harder than now, but God blessed America and it prospered. Its time America goes back to God, our merciful Father.
We need hope, if you are scared about anything, watch this:
https://harvest.org/resources/webcast/the-7-love-letters-of-jesus-to-his-church/
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Don’t panic River. They didn’t ban Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss Enterprises simply is ceasing publication of six of his books, although as I said, I do think this is a form of censorship. The books definitely contain harmful stereotypes, but I still believe they can be used as a teaching tool.
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Several thoughts.
1) Ferris State University has a Jim Crow Museum , containing many products with harmful stereotypes. The materials are used as teaching tools. This, however, does not justify reintroducing these products and trademarks into the market.
I agree that the books can be used to combat racism. However, most adults will simply read them to children without commentary, and teach them racist stereotypes.
2) About 8% of Dr. Seuss’ titles are being withdrawn from the market. People can’t read the works before buying them online. If I’m looking for a children’s book, and have an 8% chance of buying, purely by accident, one with these images, I’m going to look at some other authors instead. If they withdraw the six titles, I have a 0% chance of buying racists images, and will be more likely to buy a Dr. Seuss book.
Multiply this by thousands, and it’s a pretty big chunk of change that Dr. Seuss Enterprises is losing. Economically, they are financially better off by pulling these titles from the market.
(3) It’s interesting how the go-to book when censorship is discussed is almost always Mein Kampf, which is rather hard to buy by accident. Is it censorship when the book’s Polish-language publisher refuses to advertise the book and hikes the price up to keep people from buying it?
(4) Cancellation due to criticism is not new. Production of television’s Amos ‘n’ Andy ended in 1953 despite high ratings. Many people had made the argument that the show was harmful to Blacks; eventually, enough people accepted the argument that it justified ending production of the show.
If society changes enough that the production of racist images is considered a bad thing, than society has changed for the good.
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Excellent points Sam. As a retired children’s librarian though, I’m not a fan of censorship in any degree. Yes, six relatively obscure books (except for And to Think That I Saw it On Mulberry Street), aren’t at first glance alarming, but it opens the door. During my 26 years working in a public library I saw many books challenged, some well known: Huckleberry Finn, Judy Blume books, Peter Pan, the Little House on the Prairie series, the Harry Potter series, and even some of Charles Dickens to name a few. Others weren’t as well known such as Heather Has Two Mommies. In this case it’s a little different because it was Dr. Seuss Enterprises itself that decided to cease publication, but it was at the behest of others. There have been complaints about The Cat in the Hat for years. Is that next? What about Huckleberry Finn and Peter Pan, two of the most frequently challenged children’s classics? Will their publishers be under even more pressure to withdraw them?
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So-called cancel culture is just whining by those who are upset that their traditional cancelling of the culture of others is being challenged. For centuries traditional American culture has cancelled the culture of African Americans, Native Americans, Africans, Asians and many other groups by presenting ridiculous stereotypes as representations of those cultures. When their cancel culture misrepresentations are pushed back on, many claim foul because it offends their sense of nostalgia. Just because things were accepted in the past doesn’t make them sacrosanct.
You say you are firmly against censorship. So you have no problem with writing, saying, producing and distributing books, videos or images of anything? Somehow I find that hard to believe. The proposed remedy of having discussions with children about harmful content in books sounds nice, in theory. You can’t have that discussion every time someone reads a book.
It is easy for people to claim they understand the harm and hurt racial, religious, and gender stereotypes can cause. In reality, maybe not so much. Even among minorities the level of hurt and harm varies.
Ask an African American, or any objective observer, exactly at what point in time America ever lived up to its lofty ideals. It is not MAGA but MAG. Those who long for the good old days are perfectly happy with the harm those good old days perpetrated on large segments of the population and even themselves without their understanding.
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Thank you for commenting. You make some excellent points. As a retired children’s librarian I am against censorship mainly because through my 26 year career I constantly battled challenges to books. Some like Huckleberry Finn, and the Little House On the Prairie series were objected to because of racism. The Harry Potter series was challenged on a yearly basis because people thought it promoted witchcraft and satan worshipping. I had quite a few objections to some of Charles Dickens books because of racism, and antisemitism. I had several challenges to Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice due to the anti Semitic portrayal of Shylock. There were challenges to books like Heather Has Two Mommies, and many to the Bible. I could keep going, but I’m hoping you see my point. Once you open the door there is no closing it. We cannot change history, we can only learn from it.
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You make some good points. What someone reads or watches should be up to the individual (or the parent for children too young to really understand why something may not be good). This is an opportunity to have discussions with children.
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Thanks Michelle. It’s a difficult subject, but once you open the door where does it end?
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You make good points and say what I wa thinking far more eloquently than I could.
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Thanks Kerry.
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