The publisher of the many books written by Theodor Geisl (“Dr. Seuss”) announced that it was suspending publication of six books that contained demeaning drawings of Asian and African figures.
The books that will no longer be published are:
“And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”
“If I Ran the Zoo”
“McElligot’s Pool,”
“On Beyond Zebra!,”
“Scrambled Eggs Super!”
“The Cat’s Quizzer.”
Having written a book in 2003 called The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Children Learn, I have a long-standing interest in censorship of books, textbooks, and tests. In that book, I came down on the side of free speech and freedom of expression. I did not grapple, however, with the real dilemma presented by books that contained hateful images, even if they were not seen as such when they were first published. I was CONTINUE READING: Dr. Seuss and “Cancel Culture” | Diane Ravitch's blog