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. 

As we head into Read Across America Day, here is a list of some alternative titles that would all make valuable choices as a replacement for Dr. Seuss in your read alouds this week.

by Jason Chin

*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)

One girl (who is White) answered, “No offense. But he is Black and has those things in his hair.” We clarified as a group that she meant dreadlocks which got some of the kids talking more about hair. But her comment stuck with me, and I had to go back to it. I couldn’t just let it go. She started wth “no offense” and then referred to the author being a Black man. But why did she feel the need to start with “no offense” in the first place? Because she’s White? Because she was saying he is Black? To me, this was exactly the kind of comment that needs to be addressed and not just glossed over in the classroom.

In those 30 seconds I was wondering what my Black students might be thinking after that comment, and also flipping through various ways to respond to it in my head and trying to decide which way would be compassionate and inclusive, while still knowing that I might screw it up. I was worried about microaggressions, and trying to figure out if what I was about to say would be one or not for any of my kids. I imagine it’s this moment of fear that too often keeps teachers from encouraging these conversations in their classrooms. But I’ve learned that I can’t shy away from them because my kids live these lives in this society and need to learn how to navigate it. And in those few seconds that I was thinking of all of that (sidenote: This might also illustrate why teachers end up with decision fatigue by the end of a school day), I decided to just start with a question.

So I asked the student why she started her statement with no offense. And she shared that since she was saying Jason is Black, she didn’t want people to think she was being racist. I had to sit with that for a moment…my instinct was to want to turn to the Black kids in the class and ask if they felt it would be racist for someone to say that. Knowing that would not be the way to handle it, as I know it shouldn’t be the responsibility of the PoC in the room to educate the white people, I simply scanned the whole class and asked what others thought: Is it racist to say he is Black? Does she need to start with no offense? One of the boys (who is Black) called out from the side “She’s just saying that’s what color he is; not judging him for it. So it’s not racist.” Leave it to the kids to simplify it and lay it out there for us all.

I reminded them of when I shared Hey, Black Child early in the year for our read aloud, and asked whether using the word Black seemed racist. In a book that is celebrating Black children, written and illustrated by two Black men, they said it didn’t. We followed up with a brief discussion about using Black vs. African-American and not all Black people being of African ancestry.

I’m not sure if I handled it right, but I hope it made a positive impact on the classroom community. The kids were respectful, honest, and hopefully gained some new perspective. It was one of those classroom moments when kids surprise you, challenge you, make you think, worry you a little, and you hope you handled it well enough to help kids be better humans…without causing lasting damage. It may have made me uncomfortable or nervous at first, but I can’t let that prevent me from cultivating these conversations in the classroom. If it doesn’t start there, how will we ever expect kids to be able to have these conversations outside schools in an empathetic way?

      In an unforgettable new novel from award-winning authors Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, two teens—one black, one white—grapple with the repercussions of a single violent act that leaves their school, their community, and, ultimately, the country bitterly divided by racial tension.
      A bag of chips. That’s all sixteen-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galluzzo, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad’s pleadings that he’s stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad’s resistance to leave the bodega as resisting arrest, mistakes Rashad’s every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to STAY STILL as ordered. But how can you stay still when someone is pounding your face into the concrete pavement?
      But there were witnesses: Quinn Collins—a varsity basketball player and Rashad’s classmate who has been raised by Paul since his own father died in Afghanistan—and a video camera. Soon the beating is all over the news and Paul is getting threatened with accusations of prejudice and racial brutality. Quinn refuses to believe that the man who has basically been his savior could possibly be guilty. But then Rashad is absent. And absent again. And again. And the basketball team—half of whom are Rashad’s best friends—start to take sides. As does the school. And the town. Simmering tensions threaten to explode as Rashad and Quinn are forced to face decisions and consequences they had never considered before.
      Written in tandem by two award-winning authors, this tour de force shares the alternating perspectives of Rashad and Quinn as the complications from that single violent moment, the type taken from the headlines, unfold and reverberate to highlight an unwelcome truth.

My thoughts:


I’m not sure my words will be able to adequately express the importance of this book and the urgency I feel to get it into hands of my urban teens specifically, and all teens generally. 


This is a book to start conversations, in our classrooms and with each other. It’s a book to make you take a step back and look at bias in your own life. 


The power in this book lies in the stripped down simplicity-two boys, two views, one incident, which, through the honesty and realness of the characters who are dealing with complex issues of race, community, perceptions, stereotypes, and assumptions, is able to address a timely issue in a way teens will be able to relate to without feeling lectured at. 


Reynolds and Kiely have written a story that stays true to the teen voice and the inner struggle of trying to understand things that don’t make sense, and wanting to change but not knowing how, wanting to fight for what’s right in the face of outside pressures, and how that all impacts relationships with family and friends. 


It’s a gut-wrenching book because of how easy it was for me to picture my own students’ faces and voices in place of Rashad’s & Quinn’s, and in how it made me think about privilege while keeping the focus on these characters and the many real people who have been affected by racial incidents of police brutality. I especially appreciated that the two characters were the forefront, but had friends, teachers, and family who all affected their actions and decisions in a true to life way. 


It’s honest, real, powerful, and oh so important. 


It’s a book people need to read. 

“All-American Boys is amazing. I’m literally at a loss of words to explain how I feel. It was so powerful.” (Larry)

“I think this book is really good. But there’s more than just good. There is a deeper meaning to the book.” (Harrison) 

“This book is so powerful. It has let everyone know about racism that has been going around lately.” (Madelyn) 

“[The authors] produced a thoughtful way to write about what is going on these days.”(Malik) 

“I feel this book had a goal to have you look at society different and it did…” (Alex) 

“I liked this book a lot! It is definitely a part of my Top 10. I think it is a different way to talk about police brutality. I am scared for my black family.” (Aalisiyah) 

“All-American Boys was a really powerful story. Altogether the story was amazing.” (anon) 

“This book gives the best inside look on black and white societies and perspectives of teenagers.” (Kimi) 

“All-American Boys really affected me. Why are black people portrayed as the bad guy? I think this book shows that this is wrong. People appear to be more racist than they think. It’s sad that not many people notice this.” (Carlos) 

“I think most people can relate to this book.” (Rosita) 

“These are things that are happening today, police brutality. It’s not just in the book, it’s in real life this stuff happens in real life. And it’s not fair.” (Roman)