If I Ran the Zoo
by Dr. Seuss · first published 1950
5% recommend74% neutral21% critical
Gerald McGrew imagines the myriad of animals he’d have in his very own zoo, and the adventures he’ll have to go on in order to gather them all. Featuring everything from a lion with ten feet to a Fizza-ma-Wizza-ma-Dill.
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One of the books they banned, "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street", was Dr. Seuss's breakthrough work, and certainly not "obscure". Another, "If I Ran the Zoo", is widely considered among his best. These are both very much among his classics.
on “Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay” ↗No, revisionism is pretending canonical books like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_to_Think_That_I_Saw_It_on_... and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_I_Ran_the_Zoo are not important just because you don't remember them. Nobody will miss these books because they have been erased. Nobody missed banned books in the USSR either.
on “Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay” ↗…actually be against free speech. https://apnews.com/article/dr-seuss-books-racist-images-d8ed... > BOSTON (AP) — Six Dr. Seuss books — including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo” — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said Tuesday. > “These books portray people in ways that are hurtful…
on “Banned Seuss” ↗…pretty problematic, too, for example the depiction of the African pirate. YMMV, but for me it's a small enough piece that it's worthwhile just talking it over with my kids (vs something like Dr. Seuss's "If I Ran The Zoo", which probably belongs in the dustbin of history, along with Song of the South and everything else that really isn't worth it at this point). https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/magazine/how-to-read-a-ra...
on “Albert Uderzo has died” ↗…use words like “problematic” and “racialized undertones” That’s on you guys. This is from The horses mouth: “ Six popular Dr. Seuss books — including And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and If I Ran the Zoo — “will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said Tuesday,” The Associated Press reported. “These books portray…
on “Facial recognition can predict person’s political orientation with 72% accuracy” ↗How is Dr. Seuss a symbol comparable to this? The stories themselves aren't even offensive (apart from one line in "If I ran the Zoo"). Are the illustrations alone enough to be a symbol?
on “Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay” ↗https://apnews.com/article/dr-seuss-books-racist-images-d8ed... > BOSTON (AP) — Six Dr. Seuss books — including “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo” — will stop being published because of racist and insensitive imagery, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy said Tuesday. > “These books portray people in ways that are hurtful…
on “Banned Seuss” ↗59. You will nerd Wikipedia: The first documented appearance of the word nerd is as the name of a creature in Dr. Seuss's book If I Ran the Zoo (1950). I realise it is a typo.
on “The Book of Experiments (1958) [pdf]” ↗Wikipedia has it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_I_Ran_the_Zoo#Criticism I've owned copies with these pages. It's depressing to me that some people think that we should keep teaching this stuff to kids.
on “Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay” ↗This is misleading and approaching a lie. eBay only allows critically-annotated copies of Mein Kampf which are designed for scholars. I am sure that a copy of “If I Ran The Zoo” with a sociologist critically annotating the abhorrent racism would be permitted on eBay. From one of the listed items: > This item has been listed previously. eBay removed it with this reminder of…
on “Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay” ↗As I pointed out elsewhere, this is misleading and approaching a lie. eBay only allows critically-annotated copies of Mein Kampf which are designed for scholars. I am sure that a copy of “If I Ran The Zoo” with a sociologist critically annotating the abhorrent racism would be permitted on eBay. From one of the listed items: > This item has been listed previously. eBay removed it with this reminder of…
on “Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay” ↗…endorse racist stereotypes: https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-ite... It does not have a policy against everything morally icky, but it’s quite clear about racism. Mulberry Street and If I Ran The Zoo are both racist and against eBay’s policy.
on “Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay” ↗…six discontinued Dr. Seuss books aren’t among the late author’s best-known works. Wikipedia has more information about the most popular of these books and its criticism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_I_Ran_the_Zoo#Criticism
on “Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay” ↗…experts, including educators, reviewed our catalog of titles and made the decision last year to cease publication and licensing of the following titles: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer. These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong. Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment…
on “Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay” ↗> Caricature and racism are not identical Ok, sure, this is a fair point in general, but how is it exactly applicable here? Let's take the example of "If I Ran the Zoo", since it's one of the only images [0][1] I can find. The synopsis of the book seems to be a child daydreaming about the animals he would keep at his zoo. Whether or not the "Africans" in this book…
on “Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay” ↗