The Cat In the Hat lies somewhere in the middle. The Sneeches argues against prejudice based on physical characteristics The Lorax is an unsubtle environmental lament and The Butter Battle Book allegorizes the nuclear arms race. It can be hard to square such depictions with some of Seuss’ other tales, which were often liberal on sociopolitical subjects. If I Ran the Zoo contains stereotypical images of Africans and at one point references “helpers who all wear their eyes at a slant.” (The book was not in the collection provided by Mrs. Some of his early books suffer from similar caricatures. As a political cartoonist, he excoriated Jim Crow laws-but also drew racist cartoons depicting Japanese-Americans as the enemy.

Seuss, whose full name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, is complex and not easily summarized. But from a curricular perspective, the episode thrusts into the limelight a difficult question: What should teachers and parents do about the culturally insensitive imagery and text in some beloved classics-including the dog-eared favorites that still sit on their shelves? A Complex History Hundreds of articles about the dust-up followed, some defending the librarian’s decision and others criticizing her rejection of the books as churlish. Trump’s spokeswoman shot back that the “divisive” letter was unfortunate. She also took aim at the Trump administration’s support for school choice programs.

Book the cat in the hat comes back