Dr. Seuss story accused of having a political agenda, barred from classroom

Harper Collins

A staple in thousands of children’s book collections for decades now, “Where the Wild Things Are” stars a misbehaving little boy named Max. The tale begins with Max donning his wolf suit and making “mischief of one kind and another” — i.e., ruining a wall inside his house, chasing his dog with a fork and yelling at his mom. He gets sent to bed without his supper — and then gets rewarded for all of that bad behavior with the adventure of a lifetime. “In a way that book is saying that Max is justified in doing what he did because he has this unbelievable, amazing experience,” said children’s book publisher Anne Schwartz, vice president of Schwartz & Wade Books. Max gets to set sail in his own private boat to a land where impressionable, friendly monsters eagerly play with him for hours on end. If you could have an experience like that, would you consider misbehaving?

Grosset & Dunlap

This famous tale of can-do optimism gave us the phrase, “I think I can — I think I can — I think I can” ... but did it also contain a subtly subversive feminist message? Consider this: The engine that breaks down in the beginning of the book is female. She had been trying to take an assortment of toys and food to the good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain. When she cannot go any farther, the dolls and toys flag down other engines and ask for a ride. A shiny new passenger engine (male), a powerful freight engine (male), and a rusty old engine (male) all refuse to help. “I am a very important engine indeed,” the freight engine says. “I won’t pull the likes of you!” It turns out that the only other engine who deigns to worry compassionately about the children on the other side of the mountain is a very little blue engine, who is — you guessed it — female. Go girl power!

Viking Juvenile

“The Story of Ferdinand” casts a strong and mighty bull as the ultimate pacifist. Who knew Ferdinand’s utter disinterest in fighting could be so wildly unpopular? Noting how big and brawny Ferdinand is, influential power brokers haul him all the way from Spain’s peaceful countryside to the bustling city of Madrid. They expect him to battle ferociously in Madrid’s famed bull fight. But when he gets there, sweet-natured Ferdinand sits down in the middle of the ring so he can smell all the flowers being worn by the many lovely ladies in attendance. Of course, his flower-fueled, peaceable stance stuns and angers everyone around him — but it saves his life and the lives of untold numbers of banderilleros, picadores, horses, and, of course, the matador himself. Ole!

Random House

Speaking of subversive Dr. Seuss books, “Yertle the Turtle” is practically a call to arms. Some turtles in a nice little pond on the far-away Island of Sala-ma-Sond were happy and content — until their self-appointed king Yertle became overcome by delusions of grandeur. The power-hungry turtle said, “I’m ruler of all that I see. But I don’t see enough. That’s the trouble with me.” So, he kept ordering turtles to pile up in a stack so he could perch atop them and enjoy his heady new view. He started with a nine-turtle throne, then progressed to a 200-turtle throne, then made a move to stack up 5,607 turtles — and that’s when Mack, a plain little turtle at the very bottom of the stack, burped. The turtle stack shook and toppled, causing Yertle to crash, humiliated, into the mud of the little pond. The book’s conclusion? “... all the turtles are free as turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.”

Puffin

Madeline, the smallest of 12 girls who live in a boarding school in Paris, is tough. She’s not afraid of mice or the growling tiger at the zoo — and she also isn’t afraid to stand up to authority figures. This becomes especially apparent in “Madeline’s Rescue,” one of the later books in the “Madeline” series. In that book, fearless Madeline falls into the river Seine after monkey-ing around on a bridge. A dog saves her life, then comes home to live with the girls at the school. Happiness prevails for about six months — until trustees visit the school to conduct an annual inspection. The horrified trustees cite an arbitrary rule about dogs not being allowed in school — and then the president of the board of trustees, Lord Cucuface, heartlessly sends the life-saving dog Genevieve away. Madeline cries, “Lord Cucuface, beware! Miss Genevieve, noblest dog in France, you shall have your VEN-GE-ANCE!” The moment the trustees leave, all 12 girls and their headmistress take to the streets of Paris to search for their furry family member. When Genevieve is found, they allow her — and all 12 of her newborn puppies — to stay with them, regardless of the rules.

Atheneum

Thankfully for kids’ brains everywhere, the longstanding subversive tradition in children’s literature has continued to thrive in modern times. Here’s just one noteworthy (and hilarious) example: “Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type.” In this book, Farmer Brown’s cows have figured out how to type — and they’ve also figured out how to stick up for themselves. They begin leaving the grumpy farmer notes, starting with this one: “Dear Farmer Brown, The barn is very cold at night. We’d like some electric blankets. Sincerely, The Cows.” When he refuses, the cows go on strike and refuse to produce milk. The hens also want electric blankets, and when the farmer stalls, they join the strike and stop laying eggs. The standoff continues, with Duck (a neutral party) delivering messages back and forth between the barn and Farmer Brown’s house. Can you guess whether or not this story ends with toasty warm cows and hens?

Plenty of other modern-day books for very young kids highlight the antics of bright, independent children and animals. To name just a few memorable characters: Jack, the Little Red Hen and others in “The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales” (1992); the gorilla and other zoo animals in “Good Night, Gorilla” (1994); Olivia in the “Olivia” series of books (first published in 2000); the little boy (and the cows) in “Cows Can’t Fly” (2000); the pigeon in “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” (2003) and other pigeon books; the big sister in “How to Be a Baby ... by Me, the Big Sister” (2007); and the big sister in “17 Things I’m Not Allowed to Do Anymore” (2007). Do you have your own favorite books in this vein — either modern-day works or classics?If so, share them here!