No Cake for George

Though George Washington’s birthday is still a month away I have felt compelled to post ever since Scholastic halted the distribution of the A Birthday Cake for George Washington by Ramin Ganeshram.  If you haven’t heard the news yet and the subsequent backlash, the book was pulled because “the book may give a false impression of the reality of the lives of slaves and therefore should be withdrawn.”  The story is that of Hercules, a slave in the first president’s home, and his daughter Delia as they bake a cake to celebrate Washington’s birthday.  The problem is, critics say, that the book overlooks the issue of slavery and depicts Hercules and Delia as happy bakers.  Only a note at the end tells readers that Hercules escaped slavery leaving his daughter behind.

I have to be careful in what I write now.  Please note that the following is my own opinion and not that of CLCD as a company.  Also, it must be said that I have not read the book and seeing as it now costs close to $150 I probably won’t be reading it anytime soon.  The inability to reasonably acquire the book and form my own opinions is where the problem with this whole issue lies.  As a librarian I rely heavily on book reviews before making purchases and truth be told had I read the one editorial review of this book available on the largest online shopping site, I very likely would not have purchased it for my library.  However, in searching CLCD I came across another review that would make me think twice.   Though still a negative review the last line, usually the most read line of a review, states, “Children whose grown-ups do not address the material in the notes with them will be left with a sorely incomplete understanding of both the protagonists’ lives and slavery itself.”   As adults and librarians we have a responsibility to know what lies beneath the cover of a book we put in a child’s hands.  Good, bad, or ugly the content of a book can be a great discussion starter.  I could see using A Birthday Cake for George Washington with a class or my own child even if it is just to point out “what is wrong with this picture, what is missing?”  Furthermore, Scholastic did publish and initially defend this book.  Now, they are rescinding it?  This seems like a banned book in the greatest sense, and don’t we celebrate banned books every Fall?  Had Scholastic, in the editing or even the proposal stages, thrown this book out so we never knew it existed then fine but that’s not the case.

Now that all that ranting is done let me leave you with this…a list of alternative books about   George Washington, President’s Day, and Slavery.  All of the following titles can be found in CLCD with a myriad of reviews so that you can formulate your own opinion, just click on the cover.