Six Dr Seuss books will stop being published due to racist and insensitive imagery.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, a division of Penguin Random House, announced the decision on Tuesday after consulting experts and teachers.
“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” the company said in a statement.
“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalogue represents and supports all communities and families.”
“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 added.
The statement was released to coincide with the famed children’s book author’s birthday.
The six books to be pulled out from production 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!” and “The Cat’s Quizzer”.
The books mentioned were called out over the way they portrayed non-while characters.
One such example is in the book “In And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street,” where a character described as Chinese wears traditional Japanese-style shoes while carrying chopsticks and a bowl of rice.
Another example is from the book “If I Ran the Zoo,” wherein two men from Africa were depicted as shirtless and shoeless, wearing grass skirts and carrying an exotic animal.
Born Theodor Seuss Geisel, Dr. Seuss is one of the best-known children’s book authors in the world.
His books have been translated into numerous languages, as well as in braille, and are sold in more than 100 countries.
Some of his beloved classics include “The Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs and Ham” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”