A popular tale by Dr. Seuss was one of seven books that patrons have asked Toronto Public Library to remove from its collection over the past year.
A library patron asked the library's materials review committee to pull "Hop on Pop," a children's classic written in 1963, because of the book's violent themes.
The complainant said the book encouraged children to use violence against their fathers, according to the document that listed books patrons have asked to be pulled from Toronto Public Library shelves, which was posted online Monday.
The patron recommended the book be removed, and requested the Toronto Public Library not only apologize to Greater Toronto Area fathersbut pay damages resulting from the book's violent message.
But the committee decided that the book was designed to engage children, and that the story actually advises children against hopping on their fathers.
Seuss wrote: "HOP POP We like to hop. We like to hop on top of Pop. STOP You must not hop on Pop."
The book was retained in the children's collection.
"Hop on Pop" was one of seven titles named in the list.
Another children's book, "Lizzy's Lion," by Dennis Lee, was described as violent and disturbing. The book tells the story of a girl whose pet lion saves her from a robber by eating him. The library committee decided that the theme of the book was empowerment and the lion represented inner strength. The committee decided to keep the book in the library's collection.
"Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot," by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, was said to contain falsehoods, because it concludes that U.S. president John F. Kenedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald alone, rather than by a group of conspirators.
The library ruled that the book would stay on shelves, because the theory that Oswald acted alone is one of the currently accepted versions of the assassination, and the library also loans books disputing the conclusion.
The audiobook "A Kiss Remembered" by Sandra Brown was described as obscene, but the library kept the book because it is in high demand.
"Complete Hindi," an adult language learning kit by Rupert Snell, was said to contain inaccuracies, but the library committee wrote that they had consulted a professor of Hindi language and literature and decided to keep the book in its collection.
Murder mystery novel "Flesh House," by Stuart MacBride, was described as "shocking and disturbing," but the library decided to keep it because it had received a number of awards and had circulated well.
A DVD copy of "That's My Boy," starring Adam Sandler, showed "sick and illegal behaviour," a patron complained. However, the committee wrote that the customer had only watched 10 minutes of the movie, and felt that the rest of the film explained the repercussions of the behaviour. The film is rated 18A and cannot be borrowed by anyone under the age of 18.
