Banned Book: If I Ran the Zoo

Edit 3/10/2021: Wow, this post has blown up with recent news/debates about Dr. Seuss. Some of the comments are disgusting, and it repulsed me to know that these people thought I shared their closed-minded, harmful, ignorant views. 

I had completely forgotten about it, but I feel a need to update my somewhat pithy response about this book. People are allowed to grow and change, and now I don't think it's "cancel culture" to discover that an old author's books are completely out of line in modern times. 

There is so much QUALITY, open-minded, accepting children's lit out there that Dr. Seuss does not need to be read, much less celebrated. You might argue that he's classic, but there is no need to hold on to stale old stories when fresh children's lit is being published at an amazing rate. Children will not "miss out" on anything if they don't read Dr. Seuss in their childhoods. Read them books that show people of all different skin tones being accepted, read them books that show non-traditional families, read them books that show kindness and compassion. And show them that in your own words and actions as well. Dr. Seuss is not worth fighting for.

If I Ran the Zoo is a typical silly Dr. Seuss book, if you ask me, but it's been banned for the line "all wear their eyes at a slant", which refers to the helpers, accompanied by an illustration of Asian stereotypes.

I never knew why this book was banned, and had never read it before. It was, as I mentioned, a typical Dr. Seuss book to me, but seemed a bit long. I was expecting something along the line of Green Eggs and Ham or Hop on Pop, but this one was a real time investment.

That being said, I don't think it should be banned for the stereotypes portrayed on the pages - instead, turn them into a teaching point. Talk about why it's a stereotype and why it's offensive, and depending on the age of the children, talk about other stereotypes they might know, and debunk them. We should learn from history instead of try to ban it and wish we could erase it.

Banned Book: Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You

I read this book when I was a kid, even before I was in sixth grade. I loved reading books about school way more than I loved attending school. I liked thinking about what school could be like, instead of what it was actually like for me. I remember reading Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You when I was in lower elementary school thinking my sixth grade year would be as fun as this.

I re-read the book last month and still really enjoyed it. There was probably a fair amount of nostalgia: remembering myself reading the book and the hopes it gave me for my sixth grade year. The book is a bit dated; it was originally published in 1985, and there are references to guys wearing half-shirts… yeah. But it’s a fun, quick read for kids, and it’s an entertaining story.

 The book was banned in some school libraries because it uses the word “retarded”. I don’t agree with that word being used in any way, whether to describe someone with disabilities, or as slang to refer to something “crazy”, but I don’t think it means a book should be banned. The way the word is used in Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You is to describe Helen, who has a learning disability, but it’s not portrayed as being the correct way to refer to someone as a disability, so I think kids could read it and know it’s not a word they should use, but it’s a word that is used. It could be a talking point with kids to let them know why some terms are hurtful, even if they’re not being used for that purpose.