There was lots of information in my emails and online regarding Dr. Seuss and Read Across America. So, to make it easily accessible, I compiled the information in one place.  

Here is the press release by Dr. Seuss enterprises on March 2, 2021 from their website:

A peer-reviewed article called The Cat is Out of the Bag that discusses the racism in Dr. Seuss’ work:  Ishizuka, Katie and Stephens*, Ramón (2019) "The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss's Children's Books," Research on Diversity in Youth Literature: Vol. 1 : Iss. 2 , Article 4.  Available at: https://sophia.stkate.edu/rdyl/vol1/iss2/4
 
Book “Was the Cat in the Hat Black? The Hidden Racism of Children’s Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books” by Philip Nel.  Information from the publisher: “Gives those who teach, create, edit, or agent children's books potential tools to uproot systemic racism.  Explores how children's literature obscures its racialized origins.  Examines the common marketing practice of "whitewashing" and the growing resistance to it”  Google talk with the author Philip Nel.  Slate interview with Philip Nel about the press release from Dr. Seuss Enterprises on 3/3/2021.

Opinion piece in SLJ, Choosing Not to Highlight Dr. Seuss Books is Not Censorship by Oregon school librarian Miranda Doyle.

Article in School Library Journal about racism and monkey imagery:  The Problem With Picture Book Monkeys: Racist imagery associating simians with Black people has a long history by Edith Campbell. School Library Journal, December 4, 2019. 

​A great infographic by Katie Salo (Twitter: @storytimekatie):

Read across America’s recommendations of diverse books.

Blog post by Jillian Heise that includes a list of diverse and inclusive read alouds.

Do you have an important resource to add to this collection?  Let us know.  Email csdwebeditor@olaweb.org.
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A big thank you to Angie Manfredi, Youth Services Consultant at the State Library of Iowa for her contributions to the discussion, Katie Salo for her amazing infographic, Greta Bergquist for keeping us in the loop and Tessa Michaelson Schmidt, Wisconsin's Youth and Inclusive Services Public Library Consultant.

Author Kelly Yang opens up about her own experiences with racism in the wake of COVID19​ and explains how we can teach kids to rise above hate during this critical time -- and always.  YouTube Video.

An incredibly in-depth look at resources on racism, children and Dr. Seuss by Philip Nel, Professor of English at Kansas State University.

No time to watch or read? That's okay! You can come anyway!
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Can't attend the debrief session? You can still watch or read about the topic when it's best for you.

​Save the Date, 11AM-1PM
March 19: Summer Reading

Click here to get started on March's Watch and Read on Summer Reading.
 
For more information about the entire series go to our Spring Workshop page.

Questions or need the Zoom link? Contact CSD Co-Chair Bryce Kozla.