On Dr. Seuss

 True confession: my mother didn’t like the Dr. Seuss books. She didn’t like The Cat in the Hat or Green Eggs and Ham. She wouldn’t have liked McElligot’s Pool or Scrambled Eggs Super! either, if she had even heard of them. I haven’t been a top fan either, so haven’t thought much at all about his books until this week, when his name flooded the news cycle .

 

Why? Dr. Seuss Enterprises made the decision to stop publishing six of Theodor Seuss Geisel’s books, saying they “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.” Now, headlines, chyrons, and social media posts are up in arms about how Dr. Seuss is being cancelled, and how terrible the world is. 

 

So what do we know? First, Dr. Seuss’ own people made this call, recognizing that what might have been acceptable in the 1930s when first written and illustrated may not be the best influence on pre-school and early elementary children in 2021. Those entrusted with publishing his books understand that portraying ethnic groups with racially-insensitive stereotypes in children’s books doesn’t have to happen. Cultural norms change over time, and best practices in education change as well. This did not come as a knee-jerk reaction to a tweet from a cultural icon like Oprah; instead, the library of Geisel’s work was reviewed as a whole and a decision was made to stop publishing six of his books. Not to ban them or burn them, but simply to stop printing additional copies.

 

But horrors of horrors, the announcement was released on Geisel’s birthday, which also happens to be Read Across America Day. The alarm was raised. “They” are killing off Dr. Seuss. Is there nothing sacred anymore?

 

And to add insult to injury, President Biden failed to quote Dr. Seuss in his proclamation for Read Across America Day. “Biden erases Dr. Seuss,” screamed the headlines. Barack Obama and Donald Trump both quoted from Seuss in years past (or at least their speechwriters did), while Melania read his book to children and Michelle danced along to his rhymes. But not Mr. Biden. 

 

What’s especially unfortunate about the hullabaloo surrounding Dr. Seuss’ absence from the president’s proclamation is that it turned our attention away from what was said by Mr. Biden. Since he’s married to an educator, we might expect the president to highlight the value of reading: “Reading broadens our perspective, introduces us to new worlds, cultures, and languages, and cultivates our sense of empathy and understanding of other people’s experiences and views . . . It helps us make sense of the world as it is – and inspires us to dream of what it could be.”

 

But what’s more, he said, “According to Department of Education estimates, more than half of United States adults (54 percent) between sixteen and seventy-four years of age lack proficiency in literacy, reading below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level.” Making a very rough estimate, that means more than one hundred million of our brothers and sisters across this country struggle to read well. That troubles me, and I’m guessing it would have troubled Dr. Seuss too.

 

I love the backstory to The Cat in the Hat. Geisel was commissioned to write it and similar books to promote literacy. Given a list of 348 words that first graders needed to know, he was instructed to write a book using at least 225 of those words. His textbook company was a proponent of the “look and say” method, while Geisel himself was hooked on phonics, so he mischievously managed to incorporate both: “I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam I am.”

 

I’m thrilled the delightful and determined Elizabeth Holiday (5) is discovering the magic of reading, and glad when the lovely Madelyn Simone (11) reminds me to bring over the Malala book so she can read her story. Yet knowing how many struggle to comprehend  the words, whether by Geisel or Shakespeare, is heart-breaking. Is it time to focus Seuss’ words through The Lorax  to the scourge of illiteracy? “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot. Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”