Six Dr Seuss books will no longer be published due to racist imagery

Dr Seuss Enterprises will stop printing six books which contain “hurtful” imagery, following criticism of how they portray Black and Asian people.

Dr Seuss titles And to Think That I Saw It on Mulbery Street, If I Ran The Zoo and four others will no longer be printed as they “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong”.

The decision to stop publishing the children’s books comes after a review by a panel of experts and educators. The four others that will no longer be produced are McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super! and The Cat’s Quizzer as they attempt to cater to “all children and families with messages of hope, inspiration, inclusion and friendship.”

NPR reported on the books’ portrayals, outlining: “In And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, for example, a character described as Chinese has two lines for eyes, carries chopsticks and a bowl of rice, and wears traditional Japanese-style shoes. In If I Ran the Zoo, two men said to be from Africa are shown shirtless, shoeless and wearing grass skirts as they carry an exotic animal.”

Theodor Seuss Geiger worked in advertising before publishing And to Think That I Saw It on Mulbery Street. His most famous books include The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, The Cat In The Hat and The Lorax.