This blog post was originally shared February 23, 2021. I am including the original post for context info below with the updated 2022 version of the slides with read aloud links embedded.
Three years ago NEA changed the focus of Read Across America away from Dr. Seuss and to “Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers” – moving away from a singular focus on, and raising up of, one white male author who has a history of racist imagery* and toward a year-long celebration of the diversity that makes our country what it is. Yet many schools still cling to the tradition without using a critical lens to consider what message the year after year celebration of just one author sends to students. Dr. Seuss can be both a beloved author AND ALSO problematic. So it’s time to move away from a day and week celebrating Seuss and into a focus on inclusive choices that more kids can relate to.
Because we cannot let nostalgia guide our decisions. Because we cannot allow racist or stereotyped imagery to be part of what we promote through our read aloud choices. Because we cannot refuse to move on from the past and bypass our responsibility to represent the entirety of what America is about today.
To help in efforts to have a more diverse & inclusive focus for students, two years ago I shared a list of 50 inclusive picture book read aloud alternatives.
Last year, I selected 5 titles for each of the 5 regions of the United States (Northeast, Southeast, South, West, Midwest) you could use to truly represent and Read Across the Regions of America.
For this year, I updated the title selection to ensure each has a copyright-compliant read aloud video available.
READ ACROSS the Diverse Regions of AMERICA
You can shop this list & others to support independent bookstores + my work at my Bookshop page!
You can also access the Google slideshow using this link. You can then save as a shortcut to your Drive.
It is not open for making a copy to protect the integrity of the work & ensure you will see any changes.
If you’re trying to share with students and getting blocked by enterprise Google settings, try using this published to the web version for sharing.
If you are looking for alternatives to traditional purposes for Dr. Seuss books, this post from Teach for the Change on Instagram is a good starting point. *If you’re unaware of the issues with Dr. Seuss, these links will be helpful:
The Cat is Out of the Bag: Orientalism, Anti-Blackness, and White Supremacy in Dr. Seuss’s Children’s Books
Is the Cat in the Hat Racist? Read Across America Shifts Away From Dr. Seuss and Toward Diverse Books (School Library Journal)
Thread from The Conscious Kid in the #DisruptTexts slow chat
New Study Published on Racism and Dr. Seuss (School Library Journal)
Thank you so much for this! It is perfect. You don’t happen to already have cute dress up days to go with this, do you?
Thanks! I do not do any dress up days. Sorry!
I would love to share this with my students, but neither link above is allowing. The second one just displays on the web. The first doesn’t allow me to “publish on the web”. Do you have tips for how to make the second work? I did try “make a copy” but it was that didn’t work either. Thank you for sharing!
The “published to the web” link should work to take you to the slides in a “web” view where all links are live which you can share with students. The slides are restricted from making a copy due to permissions and updates.