Scholastic pulls children's book depicting George Washington's 'happy' slaves

A Birthday Cake for George Washington

In A Birthday Cake for George Washington, there's a crisis in the kitchen. It's the general's birthday — "Oh, how George Washington loves his cake!" — and there's a sugar shortage. Lucky for Washington, Chef Hercules, cooking alongside his daughter Delia, heroically overcomes the obstacle and bakes a delicious dessert... for his master.

The children's book is meant to be a historical look at Washington's real-life slave and chef Hercules and his daughter Delia, who lived on Washington's Mount Vernon plantation in Virginia in the late 1700s. The book's lighthearted depiction of slavery unleashed a torrent of criticism and publisher Scholastic Press announced Sunday the children's book would be pulled from distribution.

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Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.