Stereotypes in The Best Word Book Ever

The Best Word Book Ever, 1963 and 1991Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever, 1963 vs. 1991 editions (with revisions). The 1963 edition is my own, bought for me in the late '60s when I was a toddler, and read to tatters. The 1991 edition belongs to my kids today. I was so familiar with the older one that I immediately started noticing a few differences, and so have catalogued 14 of the more interesting differences here in this collection.Comment:  It's interesting to see how societal roles changed in the 28 years between editions. In 1963, a "fire man" and a "brave hero" rescued a "beautiful screaming lady" from a burning building. In 1991, they were "fire fighters" and a "cat in danger." In 1963, a "handsome pilot" flew an airplane while a "stewardess" served people. In 1991, they were a "pilot" and a "flight attendant."

Two of the 1963 images featured a mouse as a "brave" paddling a canoe and a mouse as a chief. In 1991, the paddling mouse was no longer an Indian and the mouse chief was gone.

A few points to consider:

1) No other race appears in outdated and stereotypical costumes in The Best Word Book Ever. Only Indians. As I've said before, Indians are the last US minority it's "safe" to stereotype.

2) Native stereotypes were as accepted then as other stereotypes--e.g., men had jobs while women kept homes. No one thought twice about them.

3) Twenty-eight years later, Scarry and his publisher have removed the stereotypes because they're clearly wrong. Most people today would say the gender stereotypes are wrong, but they still don't understand why the Native stereotypes are wrong.

4) The revision shows how easy it is to update and eliminate stereotypes. It doesn't harm the book's content, it improves it. The same thing happens whenever people eliminate stereotypes they claim they can't live without.

For more on the subject, see What's Wrong with Grizzly Bob? and I Isn't for Indians.

P.S. The Best Word Book Ever doesn't look like the best word book ever to me. It looks more like a very average word book.