Dr. Suess “Cancelled”

Many young kids grew up reading stories by Dr. Suess and the imagery, colorful language, and extraordinary pictures would draw them into the magic of his books. But over the past few years, there has been a large controversy whether or not six of these stories represent a racist and insensitive aspect. 

Dr. Suess is a household favorite and is loved by millions of people all over the globe for his writing. From teaching about the positivity in environmentalism to tolerance and everything in between, this good hearted writer taught many life lessons in his memorable books that people continue to love and cherish. But throughout these famous books, many people criticized the way that black people and Asians are drawn in the illustrations and  in the earlier advertising and pictures of propaganda that Dr. Suess had drawn, according to usatoday.com.

On Dr. Suess’s birthday, March second, Dr. Suess Enterprises announced the shocking news that these six books would no longer be for sale. “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937),” “If I Ran the Zoo (1950),” “McElligot’s Pool(1947),” “On Beyond Zebra! (1955),” “Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953),” and “The Cat’s Quizzer (1976)”  will no longer be available on the official Dr. Suess website or on online retailer websites such as Ebay. 

The reasoning behind the books being taken off the shelf is because some of the imagery and language used in the books offended people today because of the way their cultures are perceived. For “ And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” the parade includes a Chinese man eating with chopsticks and an Indian prince with rubies. “If I Ran a Zoo” contains the imagination of a young boy who pictures himself going hunting to Zomba-ma-tant with people who “wear their eyes at a slant.” “McElligot’s Pool” has a boy imagining the “Eskimo fish from beyond Hudson Bay” as he is fishing in a pond. The Arctic nation of Fa-Zoal in “Scrambled Egg Super!” has people shown dressed in furs and riding in skin boats. Finally, in “The Cat’s Quizzer” the question of “How old do you have to be to be a Japanese?” was asked by a yellow figure with a coolie hat on his head.

According to usatoday.com, Dr. Suess’s step-daughter, Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, explained that there “ wasn’t a racist bone in that man’s body” and that “he was so acutely aware of the world around him and cared so much.” Dr. Suess has been known for his incredible stories, but after 80 years, his content has not aged well, especially in the times we are in now. 

Many people argue if the ceasing of publication was correct including Donald J. Trump Jr. who explained that “cancelling” the books is “ absolutely insane” according to newsweek.com. These six stories may have touched you in your youth, but in the world we live in today, it is to be expected that a children’s book would become “cancelled.”