It’s really disappointing when you find out a beloved children’s author was actually really racist and also included many of those racist sentiments in his super popular children’s literature. I know for me, it took a little while to let … Read More
Join us as we learn about the United Kingdom! During this virtual tour of the United Kingdom for kids, we’ll enjoy fun and inspiring United Kingdom activities. This UK virtual field trip as part of the Global Children’s Book Club … Read More
Before a few months ago, I’d never spent any time at all in northern Texas, and had certainly never considered any hikes in Palo Duro Canyon. But we knew we wanted to try to safely meet up with my sister … Read More
Purim is a Jewish holiday honoring Queen Esther saving the Jews from being killed by the Persians with the help of her cousin Mordecai. Despite the heavy premise, Purim is often celebrated as one of the most joyous and fun … Read More
My very favorite thing about this space is that it’s become a way to combine so many things I care about – travel, education, antiracist action, family life. I love those intersections!! Books are one of the ways I love … Read More
The summer after Dan and I got married, we spent two months traveling extensively across 3 continents. It was incredible! We knew we wanted to have kids, so we figured it would be tricky to save money to travel with … Read More
I’m definitely not a huge shopper, but I do appreciate pretty clothing that is comfortable and fits well into my both my personal look and my lifestyle. I’d say on average, I probably purchase 10-15 articles of clothing per year. … Read More
A big part of travel for our family is learning about the people, cultures, and customs in different places we visit. It’s fascinating to learn about the similarities and differences, and we’ve been so grateful to learn from those who … Read More
I always think it’s fun to know what other families are reading, and it seems you guys love it, too! Here’s what we’re reading right now individually and as a family. This list of what our family is reading right … Read More
I kind of can’t believe we’ve essentially been homeschooling for a year now. While we’d considered doing a homeschool curriculum previously, our kids really enjoy classroom instruction with friends. I didn’t want to push them into doing something they didn’t … Read More
Hiking is one of our favorite ways to explore any National Park. And the great thing about a lot of Saguaro National Park hikes is that you get major bang for your buck even when just going a short distance! … Read More
A couple weeks ago, I shared some of our year round family traditions ideas. Friday pizza and movie night is one of our most beloved and longest standing! And this potato pizza recipe is everyone’s favorite. I was first introduced … Read More
It’s really disappointing when you find out a beloved children’s author was actually really racist and also included many of those racist sentiments in his super popular children’s literature. I know for me, it took a little while to let them go. I thought that perhaps they still had enough merit with their rhymes, alliteration, and fun for young readers.
But I eventually realized that it wasn’t worth it to me to have them sitting around and to have my children internalizing the messages from the words and illustrations. There are too many other excellent, inclusive children’s books out there for me to want to spend time apologizing for problematic ones.
Still, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with our stack of Dr. Seuss books once I decided I didn’t want them in our home. I pulled together 10 ideas of things you can do if you also are wondering what to do with Dr. Seuss books and want to remove Dr. Seuss from your home.
And if you’ve found out your school is still celebrating Dr. Seuss and you’re not sure what to say, I put together a sample school email/letter. I hope this makes it easy for you to speak up and advocate for more inclusive children’s literature!
This is a similar technique to papier mache. Start by cutting your Seuss pages into small pieces. Then it uses very basic ingredients (hot water, flour, salt, and a regular or hand blender) to create a paste, which you can mold into something inspiring. Even better – when it’s dry, paint an inspiring, antiracist message on it. (Here are instructions for making papier mache fruit bowls.)
Caroline Pritchard had a brilliant idea to shred the pages from old Dr. Seuss they owned and make homemade paper out of them. After they dried, the wrote passages from other, inclusive books on them and framed them. It’s a perfect project if you’ve found out that Dr. Seuss was racist and you’ve chosen to get rid of Dr. Seuss books.
Find a favorite quote from a BIPOC author, poet, musician, speaker, or other leader. Find the words (or letters to create the words) from the Seuss books and cut them out. Paste them on a new piece of paper and decorate.
This sweet little felt doll would be perfect stuffed with eco-friendly bits of old Seuss papers instead of batting. Make them in an assortment of skin tones for some open-ended play.
To do this project, start by ripping out a page from one of the books. Cut the page in half lengthwise, then glue them together at the short ends to create a long strip. Allow glue to dry. Paint over the paper with opaque acrylic paint. Let dry. Using a Sharpie, write inspiring messages or quotes from BIPOC folx.
Using a skewer, fold the paper over and continue folding to make a long coil. (Like this.) When you get to the end, dab a small bit of Glossy Accents or hot glue to the edge to hold the coil together. Take one end and coil inward, continuing until you’ve reached the end. Glue in place and use.
Toddlers love splashing, so this is a great activity for little ones to literally get their hands wet. Just find a small plastic tub and fill it with water and sheets of Seuss paper. Let your child go to town playing with and touching it! This is best to do outside or on top of a towel. It’s a great and easy activity to use the pages for good if you’ve discovered that Dr. Seuss is racist.
Shredded paper makes terrific packing material. Consider sending a gift to a loved one – perhaps something that encourages antiracist action.
Teach for the Change has a beautiful bookmark template that’s great to use with slightly older children. It guides you through prompts of studying the books together and evaluating them critically, with open-ended questions for discussion about racism in Dr. Seuss books.
If you have a chicken coop or laying box, shred your paper and lay it inside. It’s perfect for keeping warm and lasts much longer than hay. Here’s more info.
Many will feel that it’s wrong to simply throw out books. However, perhaps you feel understandable discomfort with having Seuss books in your home, but don’t have the time or resources to do one of these projects. That’s okay. It’s more important that you set the example of removing racist thought and influence from your home.
So while simply recycling the books may not feel ideal, it is still concrete action that prevents them from being read further. One way to recycle them is to use them as “brown matter” for compost – just shred the pages and add along with your “green matter.” (While colored paper is considered safe by the Composting Council, you’ll want to decide your comfort on this for yourself. This article has more info.)
