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Opinion

Hop on Pop (and other books you might wanna ban)

In response to the recent request to ban the Dr. Seuss classic Hop on Pop—Ian makes his own hilarious list of toddler books to ban.

1iStock_000037589058Medium Photo: iStockphoto

Follow along as Ottawa-based sports radio host Ian Mendes gets candid about raising daughters, Elissa and Lily, with his wife, Sonia.

As you have probably heard by now, there was a ridiculous controversy at the Toronto Public Library this week over a classic Dr. Seuss book.

A complaint to the library asked for the book Hop on Pop to be banned, as somebody felt it promoted violence towards fathers. The book was ultimately retained by the library, which saw no reason to pull it from their shelves.

Most people laughed at the suggestion that a Dr. Seuss book could contain violent or negative connotations. But upon doing further research, I found that many of our favourite toddler books actually do contain negative messaging and should be scrutinized a little more carefully.

So here’s a look at 10 other classic toddler books that maybe should be banned from libraries using the same logic as the person who tried to ban Hop on Pop:

1. Green Eggs & Ham, Dr. Seuss—Should be pulled from the shelves over concerns that consuming green eggs could lead to increased cases of salmonella poisoning.

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2. Love You Forever, Robert Munsch—Sends message that it’s OK for parents to break into their kids bedrooms—even when they have grown up and moved into a different house.

3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle—Teaches children there are no consequences for overeating.

4. The Runaway Bunny, Margaret Wise Brown—Should be banned because it encourages helicopter parenting.

5. If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, Laura Numeroff—Should be banned because it encourages permissive parenting.

6. The Lorax, Dr. Seuss—Paints a completely unfair picture of the logging industry.

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7. Hippos Go Berserk, Sandra Boynton—Teaches children that if they invite one friend over to their house, it will quickly turn into a party for 44 people.

8. Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown—This book turns the bedtime routine into a one-hour ordeal, as a child is forced to say goodnight to every object in their room.

9. How The Grinch Stole Christmas!, Dr. Seuss—Sends the wrong message that Christmas isn’t about commercialization.

10. There’s a Wocket In My Pocket, Dr. Seuss—Encourages immature readers (mostly dads) to ask, “Is that a wocket in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

This article was originally published on May 01, 2014

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