Dr. Seuss Racism Controversy:
I don't think this one is as bad as If I Ran the Zoo. There are 2 pictures I can see that would be construed as racist.
1. "Some fish from the Tropics, all sunburned and hot, might decide to swim up! Well they might...Might they not? Racing up north for a chance to get cool, Full steam ahead for McElligot's Pool!" The image portrays a tiny island with a few palms and a man with a mustache lounging with a wine glass in his hand. Perhaps he could be Greek or Meso-american or something else. Personally, I don't think the image is a negative stereotype.
2. "Some Eskimo Fish from beyond Hudson Bay might decide to swim down; might be headed this way!" And the image shows a happy but pretty stereotypical image of a "eskimo" person with an igloo. I would have to get the opinion of an Inuit/Alaskan person as to whether they think this is a harmful racist stereotype. To me, it seems pretty simple and simply old-fashioned, but not worthy of banning.

I enjoyed McElligot's Pool (1947) by Dr. Seuss. Of course, I would have loved every page to be filled with color, but I understand that it was costly and not altogether doable during the time of its publication. The story is laid out (as many were) with alternating black and white and color illustrations. Be that as it may, I have to give it to Seuss for the creativity of these numerous oddities of fish he came up with. Really worth checking out if for nothing else. This is also one of Seuss' earlier works, but it's clear that he's already established certain trademarks that he'd be forever known for.

This book is about a boy's imagination and patience at the moment when an older man is ready to dash all his dreams and hopes away by telling him that he won't catch any fish in McElligot's Pool! The ending is particularly fascinating because you as the reader don't find out whether or not the boy does or does not catch anything. It's left to the imagination, which I think makes it a more powerful piece. That you're left with the dreams and hopes of the young imagination, well after the book has ended. My rating - 3/5

Very imaginative!

From what I see cancel culture had to look pretty hard to find things to prompt the publisher to cease future printing of this book. There are 2 or 3 stereotype images of an island resident, a native northern resident, and an Occidental mountain resident. To me these images simply represent a cultural archetype with no implications negative or positive.
I also scanned thru comments and noted a ridiculous hypersensitivity to reality... in a child's book that encourages imagination and perhaps even diverse thinking.

Patience. This theme permeates this imaginative book which is brimming with hope, optimism and expectation. The illustrations reeled me in to this story of a little fisherman who sees beyond a pool filled with people's old junk and envisions amazing catches of the most fascinating fish. An inspiring read for all ages!

A 1948 Caldecott Honor Book

This book shows the reader that even though things seem impossible to others, it is still worthwhile to try your best and discover what you might uncover.

Ih ih... Suka!! (｡>﹏<｡)(*˘︶˘*).｡.:*♡

Dari hal sederhana seperti memancing di kolam (atau lebih pasnya empang?), imajinasinya jadi mengalir begitu besar.... Lebih lebar dan besar dari empangnya Pak McEliggot yang katanya nggak ada ikannya.

Ilustrasinya cantik. Pewarnaannya beda dengan buku Dr. Seuss yang biasa saya baca. Biasanya dia cuma pakai warna-warna primer macam stabilo tanpa gradasi. Tapi di sini dia pakai warna-warna lembut dengan gradasi-gradasi cantik. Suka banget deh... ♥♥♥

Ini buku udah punya lama, tapi baru dibaca sekarang. Pas deh buat menuhin reading challenge. Hehehe ^^

This is a beautiful and brilliant book, as are almost all of Dr. Seuss' books, which teach children to always keep their options open for possibilities.

Ostensibly banned by the woke because of the verboten word Eskimo, but the actual passage reads: "Some Eskimo fish from beyond Hudson Bay . . ." So it's the fish that are the Eskimos, not any persons. Therefore, I believe it was really banned on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party because it mentions Tibet: "In far-off Tibet," — FREE TIBET!!!

There's no other book like McElligot's Pool.
What kind of a book?
The kind that is cool.

You can read it at night when your in bed.
You can read it on the phone to cousin Fred.
You can read it on Tuesday on the beach.
You can even read it to a nice Sneetch.

But the very best way of all ...
to read McElligot's Pool...
is on Read Across America Day ...
at your favorite school!

This book is about the overactive imagination of an adventurous little boy named Marco. Marco dreams up a magnificent parade and day dreams about fishing at McElligot’s pool and all the adventures he would have there.
K-3 would be ideal for this book.
All students would be entertained and would benefit from this book.
This would be a good whole class read rather than small groups.
A book similar to this one is Green Eyes.
There is no multimedia that I know of.

Marco from "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" is back--and this time he's gone fishing. Dr. Seuss writes a sequel to his first book with "McElligot's Pool".

An unnamed farmer--possibly McElligot himself--watches Marco fish at the title location. He tells the young lad that no fish are there. Instead it's used as a dumping ground for trash. But even after three hours of fishing, Marco is determined that he will catch a few fish.

And just like in "Mulberry Street", the young man's imagination runs wild and shows no limits. Unlike Simple Simon who vainly tried to catch a whale in a bucket to no avail, Marco envisions being able to fish for anything--from a sawfish with an extra-long saw to a whale or two. He also imagines seeing catfish, dogfish (a small type of shark) and a sea-horse not as nature intended but as the named animal being part of the fish itself. One school of fish Marco concocts are circus fish that do acrobatic stunts as if they were performing under the big top.

Dr. Seuss lets Marco's imagination stretch out just like McElligot's Pool could--going underground and into a sea of endless types of fish. I also like how Dr. Seuss alternates between pages, shifting between black-and-white and color illustrations. He deserved to win a Caldecott Honor Award in 1948 for his creative illustrations in "McElligot's Pool"! (Roger Duvoisin received the Caldecott for his book "White Snow, Bright Snow" that year.)

Dr. Seuss also won two more Caldecott Honor Awards during his amazing writing career: for his 1950 book "Bartholomew and the Oobleck" and in 1951 for "If I Ran the Zoo". (You can find my review for "Zoo" under My Books.) Leo Politi won the 1950 Caldecott for his book "Song of the Swallows". Katherine Milhous won the medal the following year with her book "The Egg Tree".

Finally, it's a shame how both "McElligot's Pool" and "If I Ran the Zoo" won't be reprinted anymore. Children and their parents would enjoy reading this book as a bedtime story. It could open up a whole new world as well as strengthen a bond for Mom, Dad and their kids. And who knows? Maybe a trip to the Aquarium might be in order, too!

Hopefully, the good doctor's banned books will one day be reprinted for future generations to enjoy again. And put the silver Caldecott Honors medal back onto "McElligot's Pool" and "If I Ran the Zoo". Dr. Seuss deserves this recognition once more from his publisher. And like "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Lorax", books like "McElligot's Pool" and "Mulberry Street" would make some great animated 15-minute videos for the kids to enjoy as well!

Rating for "McElligot's Pool": *****