The titles include his first book writing under the pen name Dr. Seuss, ‘And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street’ (1937), and ‘If I Ran the Zoo’ (1950)
Six Dr. Seuss Books Cease Publication for Hurtful and Wrong Portrayals
Antonio Ferme, provided by
FacebookTwitterEmail
Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced this morning that they will stop publishing six of Dr. Seuss’ picture books amid accusations of racist imagery.
The company that seeks to preserve and protect the author’s works released a statement explaining that these six books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong. The titles being discontinued include “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” “If I Ran the Zoo,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.”
Dr. Seuss Books Rocket Up Amazon Best-Selling Books Chart
Todd Spangler, provided by
FacebookTwitterEmail
As of Tuesday afternoon, 13 of the top 20 best-selling books listed on Amazon in the U.S. were by Dr. Seuss.
More from Variety
Among those were four of the books that Dr. Seuss Enterprises said it will stop publishing and licensing: “If I Ran the Zoo” (No. 6), “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” (No. 12), “On Beyond Zebra!” (No. 19) and “Scrambled Eggs Super!” (No. 14). The surge in sales reflected a desire by fans to get copies of the now-blacklisted books before they’re unavailable.
How to Read Across America Without Dr. Seuss
Photo: Ron Ellis (Shutterstock)
It’s Read Across America Day, which means millions of school children across the country will be celebrating today (or even all week) with Dr. Seuss-themed activities. The day, created by the National Education Association in 1998 to coincide with Dr. Seuss’ birthday, no longer has an official affiliation with the well-known children’s book author but schools often still connect the festivities to an author who used racist imagery in some of his classic books.
Advertisement
Parents and educators have become increasingly aware of and vocal about the racist depictions of some of characters in Theodor Seuss Geisel’s famous children’s books, as well as in the political cartoons, comics, and advertisements he illustrated, as detailed in a 2019 study,