Six Dr Seuss books to stop being published as they 'portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong'
Video report by ITV News Correspondent Sejal Karia
Six Dr Seuss books will no longer be published because they "portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong", the business that preserves and protects the author's legacy said.
Ceasing sales of the books, including If I Ran the Zoo and And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, "is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” the company said in a statement.
The books that will stop being published 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
“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,” it said.
The decision was made last year after months of discussion.
It said it is “committed to listening and learning and will continue to review our entire portfolio".
The company's statement coincides with the late author and illustrator's birthday.
Dr Seuss, whose real name is Theodor Seuss Geisel, is a popular children's author who was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1904 and died in 1991. His books have been translated into dozens of languages and sold in more than 100 countries.
His books made an estimated $33 million before taxes in 2020, up from $9.5 million five years ago, Dr Seuss Enterprises said. He was also listed as the second highest paid dead celebrity of 2020 by Forbes - behind pop star Michael Jackson.
But there has been criticism in recent years over the way black, Asian and other people are drawn in the children's books, as well as in his advertising and propaganda illustrations.
The Cat in the Hat, one of Dr Seuss’ most popular books, has received criticism too, but it will continue to be published for now.
Some schools in the US have moved away from the author's books.
Loudoun County, Virginia, a school district near Washington DC, had to address rumours last month that they were banning all Dr Seuss books.
“Research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss,” the school district said.
In 2018, a Dr Seuss museum in his hometown of Springfield removed a mural that included an Asian stereotype.
In 2017, first lady Melania Trump gifted 10 Dr Seuss books to a public school in each state to celebrate National Read a Book Day. But a school librarian in Cambridge, Massachusetts, criticised her gift, saying many of Dr Seuss' works were “steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes".
The US' National Education Association, which founded Read Across America Day in 1998 and deliberately aligned it with the author's birthday, has for several years deemphasised Dr Seuss and encouraged a more diverse reading list for children.