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The Dr. Seuss Estate Announces They Will Stop Publishing 6 Books Due To ‘Racist’ Imagery

Dr. Seuss

The book, “The Cat in The Hat,” by Dr. Seuss, sits on a book shelf at West Elementary School during a National Read Across America Day event Mar. 2, 2017 at Yokota Air Base, Japan. National Read Across America Day is a holiday to share the fun of reading with children of all ages, and is celebrated on Dr. Seuss’ birthday. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Donald Hudson)

Six Dr. Seuss books are being retired after decades of criticism of racist images in illustrated children’s stories.

“These books point people in hurtful and wrong ways,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises told The Associated Press in a statement coinciding with the late author and illustrator’s birthday.

Contrary to the statements of some commentators on the political right, Dr. Seuss’s books aren’t being “canceled.” Rather, the estate made the executive decision to stop printing certain books.

As much as Dr. Seuss is revered by millions of people around the world for the positive values ​​of many of his works, including environmental protection and tolerance, so in recent years has there been criticism of the way Blacks, Asians, and others are drawn in some of his works.

Six Dr. Seuss books – including And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street and If I Ran The Zoo – will no longer be published due to racist and insensitive imagery, the company said Tuesday. They also said that their decision is preserving the author’s legacy.

“These books show people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” the organization said in a statement Tuesday morning, adding that the decision was made last year with a group of experts including teachers. “Dr. Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics, and professionals as part of our review process. We then worked with a group of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles,” it says.

The news comes on National Read Across America Day, when schools in the US celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday on March 2nd by reading to commemorate the popular children’s author who passed away in 1991.

Books by Dr. Seuss – born March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts, as Theodore Seuss Geisel – are sold in more than 100 countries.

While his children’s classics are still revered around the world, renewed criticism has arisen around his depictions of minorities.

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