A school librarian in Cambridge, Mass., has turned down a Dr. Seuss book donation from First Lady Melania Trump, saying that the beloved children’s author’s books are filled with “racist propaganda.”
In a letter published in The Horn Book, elementary school librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro said Dr. Seuss was “a bit of a cliché” and had books that were filled with “racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.”
“Open one of his books (‘If I Ran a Zoo’ or ‘And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street,’ for example), and you’ll see the racist mockery in his art,” she wrote in rejecting the donation sent to recognize National Read a Book Day, which was on September 6.
Phipps Soeiro also noted that her school is well-funded, with the city spending “well over $20,000” per pupil, but that other schools have libraries that are being shuttered and are in marginalized communities.
“Why not go out of your way to gift books to underfunded and underprivileged communities that continue to be marginalized and maligned by policies put in place by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos?” she wrote. “Why not reflect on those “high standards of excellence” beyond only what the numbers suggest? Secretary DeVos would do well to scaffold and lift schools instead of punishing them with closures and slashed budgets.”
In a letter enclosed with her donation, the first lady explained that it chose the schools based on the Department of Education’s standards of excellence.
She said that she sent a copy of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” because she and her son Barron used to read it.
A White House statement said that nine other Seuss books would be sent, including “The Cat in the Hat” and “Green Eggs and Ham.”
On National #ReadABookDay I encourage everyone to read a book. Let every page educate you & take you on an exciting journey!
“While we enthusiastically support the political engagement and passion of our employees, in this instance the editorial posted online gave the impression that the statement reflected the position or actions of the Cambridge Public Schools,” the district said. “Our school district did not authorize any such statement.”
Phipps Soeiro enclosed a list of children’s books that “offer you a window into the lives of the many children affected by the policies of your husband’s administration.” That list included books by authors of color and with stories concerning immigration.
The comments on the librarian’s post are mixed, with many thanking the librarian for her words but others condemning her for calling out Dr. Seuss and for not accepting a gift.
“This is a great, thoughtful, honest letter. It would be nice if it fell on open ears,” said one commenter.
“Slapping the face of a gift-giver, in my part of the country, is considered rude,” said another.
22 'Rediculous' Typos From Trump's White House, From 'Attaker' to 'Unpresidented' (Photos)
You can't have "the best words" if you can't correctly spell them. Even more serious than the Trump administration's beef with CNN is its beef with grammar, as is evidenced by a score of tweets and official White House documents that are riddled with spelling errors, misused words and downright gibberish. Here are 21 of the worst (and most laughable) offenses.
"Innaccurately"
Oh, the irony! The White House tried to call out the Congressional Budget Office for inaccuracy but inaccurately spelled the word "innaccurately."
White House/Twitter
"Honered"
Before "covfefe," there was "honered." Of course, newly-inaugurated Trump meant to tweet that he was "honored," but that's not what happened.
Twitter
"Unpresidented"
According to Huffington Post, Trump Twitter-slammed China for seizing a U.S. underwater drone in December 2016. He also made up a word in the process. By “unpresidented,” we can assume he meant “unprecedented.”
Twitter
"San Bernadino"
The White House got a few things wrong with this list of “unreported” terror attacks. First, many of the incidents actually had been reported. Second, “San Bernardino” was spelled incorrectly.
White House/Twitter
"Attaker"
In the same report, the WH managed to misspell “attacker” 23 times in a row. That has to be some sort of record.
White House/Twitter
"W.E.B. DeBois"
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) botched the name of legendary civil rights activist, W.E.B. DuBois. It’s DU Bois, as in “DU” they realize the epic mistake they made?
Twitter
"Deepest apologizes"
Apparently, the DOE did catch the gaffe and subsequently tweeted out an apology… sort of.
Twitter/The Washington Post
"Columbia"
This is a common spelling error that also tripped up Steve Harvey in the past. For the record, when referring to the country, the correct spelling is "Colombia."
White House/Twitter
“Possibility of lasting peach”
According to a White House press release, one of Trump’s objectives during his most recent visit to Israel was to “promote the possibility of lasting peach” between Israelis and Palestinians. Who needs peace when you can have peaches?
White House/Twitter
“Couple with changes”
Another typo from the same press release. This time, someone left off the “d” in the word “coupled.” Hence, we have “A new approach, couple with changes.”
White House/Twitter
"Councel"
After Trump tweeted this misspelling on May 18, Merriam-Webster reported that "councel" was their most-searched word of that day.
Twitter/The Hill
"Tapp"
President Obama did not "tapp" Trump's phone at any time during his two terms in office, because there is no such word as "tapp" in the English language.
Twitter
Too vs. To
This was not a tweet. This was Donald Trump's official inauguration portrait... with an egregious typo printed front and center.
Library of Congress
"Teresa May"
This mistake doesn’t seem too critical… until you consider the fact that Teresa (sans “h”) May is the name of a British porn star, not the British Prime Minister. The latter spells her first name with an "h."
White House/Huffington Post
"Hear by"
He should have typed "hereby." Of course, POTUS received a lot of flack for this one, among his many other botched spellings.
Twitter/Pro Publica
"Educatuon"
Failure took the form of a White House Snapchat on April 17. There's no excuse for this one.
White House/Snap
"Thr" and "Gas"
Trump displayed poor spelling in his attempt to shade two credible news outlets via Twitter.
Twitter
"Amoung"
"Amoung," many other things, he will also not use spellcheck.
Twitter
"Predisent"
This was a statement made by Trump's lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, in an official White House document.
White House/Twitter
"Rediculous"
Once again, Trump unleashes a grammatically incorrect Twitter rage at his arch nemesis, CNN.
As Merriam-Webster so nicely put it, "heal (to become healthy again) heel (a contemptible person)."
Twitter
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Welcome to the White House: where the words are made up, and spellcheck doesn’t matter
You can't have "the best words" if you can't correctly spell them. Even more serious than the Trump administration's beef with CNN is its beef with grammar, as is evidenced by a score of tweets and official White House documents that are riddled with spelling errors, misused words and downright gibberish. Here are 21 of the worst (and most laughable) offenses.