Dr. Seuss Enterprises has ceased publication of several of the children’s author’s books, in light of recent controversies surrounding him and his works.
In a recent turn of events, and following on from Democrat President Joe Biden’s omission of the classic American children’s author from Read Across America Day due to alleged racial undertones, Dr. Seuss Enterprises has ceased publication of six of the author’s books for similar concerns. The firm said it was doing so in order to “ensure Dr Seuss Enterprises’ catalogue represents and supports all communities and families”.
The books in question that are being removed from publication 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.
The publishing house, which owns the rights to all the related media surrounding the Dr. Seuss brand, made its decision following consultation between “teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process”, and said that this decision had been under consideration since last year.
Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Geisel, is one of the best-known children’s authors, with his works, including the likes of The Cat In The Hat and How The Grinch Stole Christmas!, both from 1957, having sold over 600 million copies worldwide, and having been translated into more than 20 languages by the time of his death in 1991.
His books have been more controversial in recent year, however. A librarian based in Cambridge, Massachusetts criticised a gift of 10 of his books by the then First Lady Melania Trump, stating that they were “steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures and harmful stereotypes” . More recently, a mural to the author was removed in his hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts, for having an Asian stereotype.
Meanwhile, demand for the out-of-print books has skyrocketed on sites such as Amazon and Ebay, where many second-hand copies of them go for over $1,000. This has also drawn much ire from many prominent figures. Sky News Australia host Rita Panahi wondered which author would be cancelled next, and comedian Tim Young said it was the same as “book-burning”.
Host of The Rubin Report Dave Rubin stated that he couldn’t “believe it”, and Daily Wire contributor Matt Walsh jokingly noted that he would “make a killing selling my kid’s Dr. Seuss collection on the black market”.
