Dr. Seuss Was Celebrated By Pulling Titles Off Of Shelves
Dr. Seuss’ stories are known by generations of children and their parents. Instant classics such as Green Eggs and Ham, Hop On Pop, Horton Hears Who, etc. What may shock some people to learn is that some other Dr. Seuss titles ended up being highly controversial due to racist undertones.
The six books that have been deemed offensive by multiple races and cultures were taken off the shelves on Dr. Seuss Day (which is also Dr. Seuss’ birthday). They will no longer be printed or sold to the public. Thankfully most of the titles seem not to be a part of the more well known stories we’ve come to know and love. To Think Saw It On Mulberry Street, McElligot’s Pool, The Cat’s Quizzer, If I Ran the Zoo, Scrambled Eggs Super and On Beyond Zebra are the ones being plucked. All of them had very upsetting depictions of certain minority groups.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises released this statement on their Instagram. “Today on Dr. Seuss’s birthday, Dr. Seuss Enterprises celebrates reading and also our mission of supporting all children and families with the messages of hope, inspiration, inclusion, and friendship. We are committed to action. To that end, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, working with a panel of experts, including educators, reviewed our catalog of titles and made a decision last year to cease publication and licensing (list of titles).”
This struggle to have some of the Seuss works seen for what they are has been a long one indeed. The National Education Association has been on a mission to diversify the books available to children throughout the U.S. in an attempt to steer their attention from Dr. Seuss books.
Following their example, multiple school districts have steered themselves in the opposite direction of Seuss and the many stories he had created in his time. This created an awkward situation when First Lady Melania Trump had gifted 10 Suess works to a Cambridge school in Massachusetts. The librarian had criticized the offering stating that Seuss’ works were “steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures and harmful stereotypes.”
The multimillion dollar company has made it known that they will be reviewing all of their current stories that are still being mass produced including the beloved Cat In The Hat.
