Censoring Dr Seuss?

Last year Chicago public library withdrew six of the Dr Seuss children’s books.

This followed the decision of their publisher to drop the titles over what was considered racist imagery. One of those books, If I Ran the Zoo, tells the story of Gerald McGrew who visits ever more exotic locations to collect a fabulous collection of animals. Some of the lands he visited are illustrated using what may be considered racial stereotypes. Are they really racist? Many would now consider them, at best, crude and insensitive.

Books are not necessarily banned, but they may be dropped by publishers or removed from schools for similar reasons. W.E. Johns’ Biggles tales of a flying ace have come under a cloud of suspicion from time to time, and for a period even the BBC banned Enid Blyton’s works for 30 years. One UK university made news earlier this year for placing a content warning on young adult fiction including Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Prospective readers were warned that the books might lead to ‘difficult conversations about gender, race, sexuality, class and identity’.