It was reported here two years ago (4/30/2012) that Yertle the Turtle was banned as part of a political dispute in British Columbia. Well, the beloved works of Dr. Seuss are once again within the cross-hairs of censors in Canada- this time in Toronto, Ontario. Joining the list of six other controversial and subversive Seuss titles is Hop on Pop.
Designed to introduce basic phonics to children, the 1963 book was published with the subtitle “The Simplest Seuss for Youngest Use” and contained several short poems and characters.
The book is so popular and effective that it is the go-to choice for librarians and teachers fifty years later. In fact, Hop on Pop ranked sixteenth in Publishers Weekly’s list of the all-time best-selling hardcover books for children in 2001. In a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association put it on the list of Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children.
Former United States First Lady Laura Bush, herself an ex-librarian, listed it as her favorite book in a 2006 Wall Street Journal article, saying, “It features Dr. Seuss’ typically wonderful illustrations and rhymes, of course, but the main thing for me is the family memory- the loving memory- that the book evokes of George lying on the floor and reading it to our daughters, Barbara and Jenna. They were little bitty things, and they took Hop on Pop literally, and jumped on him- we have the pictures to prove it.”
Now a ‘concerned citizen” in Toronto has taken the threat of bodily harm seriously and filed a formal complaint to the Toronto Public Library claiming that the book “encourages children to use violence against their fathers” by hopping on them.
They also demanded that library officials publically apologize and pay damages to any fathers injured by being jumped on by children.
Vickery Bowles, the director of collections management at the Toronto Public Library, said that there is a system for processing requests to remove books from its collection, though fewer than one hundred have been filed since 2000. Of those, only five were actually removed “because they contained inaccurate or dated information,” such as a children’s book on dairy farming that contained outdated farming information.
A PDF released by the Toronto Public Library [to see the entire list, and the remarks for each censored item, follow this link] shows library materials being reconsidered by the Materials Review Committee, including Hop on Pop. The actual bullet points from the meeting notes contain the following remarks:
- · The book is a humorous and well-loved children’s book designed to engage children while teaching them reading skills.
- · Since its publication in 1963, it has maintained its popularity and appeared on many “Best of” children’s book lists.
- · Dr. Seuss was a prolific and celebrated children’s author who won the Pulitzer Prize among many other awards.
- · The children are actually told not to hop on pop.
- · Retained in the children’s collection
The only words spoken by the infamous Pop in the 390-word title are an warning to refrain from such violent activity: “STOP. You must not hop on Pop.”
It should be noted that all contested titles on the above list were retained during the meeting and remain on library shelves in the Toronto area.
So what say you, fellow readers. Is the potential for violence so high that this book should be removed and its fifty-year reign of terror brought to an end? Comment below.
For more information on the Banned Books Awareness and Reading for Knowledge project and the complete list of titles covered, please visit the official website at http://bbark.deepforestproductions.com/
Sources: Wikipedia, geekosystem.com, Wall Street Journal, Toronto Public Library, CNN
© 2014 R. Wolf Baldassarro/Deep Forest Productions
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