(Photo: Gene Lester/Getty Images)
One fish. Two fish. Red fish. Blue fish. Six Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published due to racist imagery.
Dr. Seuss is everywhere. His books are a staple at elementary school libraries and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” plays on thousands of TVs around Christmas time.
“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” said the business that preserves the late author’s legacy.
In recent years, the famed author has received criticism over his depictions of Asian and Black people, such is the case for “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” and “If I Ran the Zoo,” which are included in the list of six.
“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” said Dr. Seuss Enterprises.
This decision involved the input of many. “Dr. Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process. We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles,” the company told AP.
The six books — which also include “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!” and “The Cat’s Quizzer” — are not the only books to receive criticism. “The Cat in the Hat” has also been criticized, but it will still be published.
For years the National Education Association has focused less on Seuss and more on diverse reading lists for Read Across America Day, which it founded in 1998 and on Seuss’s birthday.