Callum Borchers: Today is Reading Across America Day, a celebration of

reading that coincides with the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better
known as Dr. Seuss. And this year the best-selling and beloved children's
author’s work is being re-evaluated. Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced
today that it will no longer publish six Dr. Seuss works, including “And to
Think That I Saw it On Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo” because of
their racist and insensitive imagery. Joining us to discuss is Juanita Giles,
founder and executive director of the Virginia Children’s Book Festival.
Juanita, welcome back to Here & Now.

Juanita Giles: Thank you so much for having me.

Borchers: Glad to have you, and I’m wondering what your reaction is to
these half dozen books no longer being published.

Giles: Well, I’ll tell you it was the first news I saw this morning when I woke
up. And my first reaction was ‘This has been a long time coming’ to be
honest with you. And I think it’s important that people recognize that his
entire canon is not being thrown out. But I’ve spoken to a lot of people
today about this and everybody’s having some fairly emotional reactions
about it, and understandably so. It can be difficult to take someone who is
as beloved as Dr. Seuss and think that he was capable of anything that
would be racist or insensitive even though we know that’s true. 

Borchers: Well for folks then who are struggling to come to terms with that
or maybe they've forgotten because they haven’t read the books in many
years, can you talk a little bit about the racist imagery in these books. 

Giles: I can. I was speaking with a friend this morning who had told me it
was just a few weeks ago she had started reading her childhood copy of “If
I Ran the Zoo” to her granddaughter. And she only got in a little ways
before she stopped. She herself was very distressed, specifically by the
imagery of Asians in the book. And I had not seen this book myself in some
time and I borrowed her copy and when I opened it, I was really stunned by
it. Of course, other people as I said before are just so in love with Dr. Seuss
that they can excuse some of these things, especially knowing how the
evolution of his work changed. And he acknowledged and recognized that
he had done some of these things in his earlier books. 
Borchers: Well, you know there’s some of these overtly racist things in
these books that are being discontinued, but there’s also subtler things in
other Dr. Seuss works. I’m thinking of my own childhood favorite, “How the
Grinch Stole Christmas,” which takes place in the fictional town of Whoville.
And all the characters there are white, which could signal to readers of
color that they don’t belong in Dr. Seuss’s idea of an idyllic society. So what
do we do about that?

Giles: That’s 100% correct. And it’s easy to forget that it’s not just Dr.
Seuss books that have predominantly white imagery or all white imagery.
That was certainly the case for many years in America and it’s still a
problem today to be honest with you. Representations of children of color
or people of color in children’s literature is still vastly lagging. It’s something
that the industry is addressing and I’m so happy to see it, but he’s certainly
not alone in that white representation.

Borchers: In this movement to diversify children’s literature that you’re

mentioning, I’m wondering, a, why you think that’s a good idea but also, b,
if you have any tips for parents or grandparents like you mentioned earlier
who may be in the habit of just reaching for the classics that they read as
children. 

Giles: Right. Well, I certainly think it is important for everyone not just see
themselves represented, but to see people and other cultures, races, or
ethnicities represented as well. I was talking earlier to someone about how
difficult it is to play catch-up with children if they don’t experience diversity
in what they see every day. Whereas if this diversity is put forward on a
daily basis, it becomes natural for children to experience differences and to
see themselves, which is such a powerful, powerful thing for small children
who are already navigating the world through grownup eyes and grownup
control, to see themselves gives them a sense of ownership over
themselves. And I would say to parents and grandparents, there certainly is
a place for classics, but the diverse books are out there and the more we
purchase them or check them out at the library, the more there will be. If we
drive the demand, then there will be more diversity in children’s literature.

Borchers: So when you are sitting down with one of these classics, with
your child or your grandchild and you come across racist imagery, how do
you handle it? Do you discuss it on the stop with your child, is there a
certain age where you think its time to have that conversation? What’s the
best way to handle it?

Giles: I discuss it with my children on the spot because I can see their
reactions to things and it needs to be addressed at that moment. It’s
important to remember I think that you do have to look at a book through
the lens of when it was written, but that is an adult skill, and it is incumbent
on us as parents, and grandparents, or teachers, or anyone that is reading
to a child to give them some context. There are many books that are
wonderful books and yet reflect certain tropes or ideas of their time period.
And you don’t want to necessarily wanna throw the baby out with the bath
water and get rid of the whole book. But it is a teachable moment for
children and it’s really important not to just let that go by and let that be
absorbed into the child without addressing why that’s in there in the first
place.

Borchers: Juanita Giles is the founder and executive director of the Virginia
Children’s Book Festival. Juanita, thanks so much for your time. 

Giles: Thank you so much.