Six Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published because they portray people in ‘hurtful and wrong’ ways, as the business persevering the author’s legacy shared.
The titles going out of sales are; ‘And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street’; ‘If I Ran the Zoo’; ‘McElligot’s Pool’; ‘On Beyond Zebra!; ‘Scrambled Eggs Super!’; ‘The Cat’s Quizzer’.
After reviewing its catalogue and consulting educators, Dr. Seuss Enterprises stated, ‘Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’s catalog represents and supports all communities and families.’
The announcement was also made on Tuesday on Seuss’ birthday, who is one of the best-know kids’ authors in the world, with over 650 million copies of his book having been sold worldwide.
However, Dr. Seuss also had a long history of publishing racist and anti-Semitic work, spanning back to the 20s where he drew Black boxers as gorillas and deemed Jewish stereotypes through portraying Jewish characters as financially stingy.
A study then examined 50 of his books and found that 43 out of the 45 characters of colour have ‘characteristics aligning with the definition of Orientalism’ or the stereotypical, offensive portrayal of Asia.
Such allegations were linked to books such as The Cat’s Quizzer and If I Ran the Zoo. The study also argues that since the majority of human characters in his books are White, his works – whether indirectly or not – perpetuate White supremacy.
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