--- title: Melania Trump Dr. Seuss Book Donations Rejected by School description: The librarian Dr. Seuss "a bit of a cliche," writing the late author's illustrations are "steeped in racist propaganda." canonical: https://time.com/4962801/melania-trump-dr-seuss-books/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-29T16:12:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:47:41.503Z og:title: Melania Trump Donated Books to a School. Why the Librarian Sent Them Back og:description: The First Lady's choice was "a bit of a cliche" og:url: https://time.com/4962801/melania-trump-dr-seuss-books/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3afa620789af1113/6988dff7096a946c7f69fcba/gettyimages-855396016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4974 og:image:height: 2798 og:image:alt: President Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Melania Trump Donated Books to a School. Why the Librarian Sent Them Back twitter:description: The First Lady's choice was "a bit of a cliche" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3afa620789af1113/6988dff7096a946c7f69fcba/gettyimages-855396016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Melania Trump Tried to Donate Books to a School. Here's Why the Librarian Sent Them Back > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Sep 29, 2017 4:12 PM UTC  WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 28: First lady Melania Trump, flanked by Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, speaks during an Opioid roundtable discussion held in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, Sept 28, 2017\. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 28: First lady Melania Trump, flanked by Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, speaks during an Opioid roundtable discussion held in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday, Sept 28, 2017\. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) The Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty Images by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Sep 29, 2017 4:12 PM UTC A school librarian has kicked the First Lady out. Just like Sam from _Green Eggs and Ham_ before her, Boston school librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro took one look at the Dr. Seuss books [Melania Trump](http://time.com/melania-trump-inauguration-model-first-lady/) donated to her school, and decided she “would not like them here or there.” The First Lady’s office declared on Sept. 6 that Trump would donate [Dr. Seuss books](http://time.com/3978547/dr-seuss-social-justice-commitment/) to schools across America that had been recognized for education excellence to celebrate National Read a Book day. Cambridgeport Elementary School was on the list, but the book slinger in charge there took issue with the gesture for two reasons — she didn’t need free books, and they weren’t right. As Liz Phipps Soeiro put it in a [a blog post](http://www.hbook.com/2017/09/blogs/family-reading/dear-mrs-trump/#%5F), there were schools that needed [books](http://time.com/4941811/hobbit-anniversary-1937-reviews/) and hers wasn’t one of them: --- > “” --- There was more. Soeiro also wrote she found Dr. Seuss “a bit of a cliche,” writing the late author’s illustrations are “steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.” She then drove home her point recommending stories she said illustrate the Trump Administration’s impact on children like _Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation_, and _Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation_ instead of _The Cat in the Hat_ and _Oh the Places You Will Go_. She even issued a plea for the First Lady and the President. “You and your husband have a direct impact on these children’s lives. Please make time to learn about and value them,” Soeiro wrote. In response, [The First Lady’s office said that the librarian’s decision was “unfortunate”:](http://fortune.com/2017/09/28/melania-trump-books-rejection/) --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4962801/melania-trump-dr-seuss-books/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4962801/melania-trump-dr-seuss-books/"},"headline":"Melania Trump Tried to Donate Books to a School. 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