Claudia Anthony "Scholastic pulls children’s book criticized for depiction of happy slaves"

Scholastic Publishing said they would stop the distribution of the children's book, "A Birthday Cake for George Washington," that has been criticized for showing George Washington's slaves as happy workers. Scholastic released the statement: “We believe that, without more historical background on the evils of slavery than this book for younger children can provide, the book may give a false impression of the reality of the lives of slaves and therefore should be withdrawn." The book has been slammed by reviewers on Amazon.com and on social media. Originally, the book was defended by Scholastic, and the author defended the story by saying, "It is the historical record — not my opinion — that shows that enslaved people who received ‘status’ positions were proud of these positions."


I do not think this is acceptable as a children's book, especially because for many children who have had no prior education about slavery, this is glorifying it for them. Showing slaves as cheerful workers in Washington's kitchen fails to depict the hardships that slaves experienced, and how poorly they were typically treated.

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