Mayor Domenic J. Sarno (D) extended the invite after a school librarian in Cambridge, Massachusetts recently rejected a package of Dr. Seuss books from Melania Trump.
"’One fish ‐ two fish ‐ red fish ‐ blue fish’ ‐ I think her comments stink and are ridiculous towards our beloved Dr. Seuss," he said of librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro in a statement Thursday.
"[Soeiro’s] comments that this is ’racist propaganda and that Dr. Seuss is a bit of a cliché and worn ambassador for children’s literature’ is ’political correctness’ at its worst," Sarno added.
"By the way, kudos to First Lady Melania Trump for her generous offer to donate Dr. Seuss books to that Cambridge school library ‐ they don’t want them ‐ we’ll take them and would be honored to have the First Lady and President Donald J. Trump to visit the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum too."
Melania Trump’s spokeswoman on Thursday called Soeiro’s reaction to the first lady’s attempted donation "something divisive" and "unfortunate."
Soeiro last Tuesday published an editorial explaining why Cambridgeport Elementary School did not need Melania Trump’s package of 10 Dr. Seuss books.
"My students have access to a school library with over nine thousand volumes and a librarian with a graduate degree in literary science," she wrote.
"You may not be aware of this, but Dr. Seuss is a bit of a cliché, a tired and worn ambassador for children’s literature," Soeiro added.
"Another fact that many people are unware of is that Dr. Seuss’s illustrations are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes."
The White House had previously selected one school in all 50 states to receive Melania Trump’s donation as part of an initiative promoting childhood literacy and education.
