On Monday, US President Joe Biden omitted Dr Seuss from the list for Read Across American Day, which brought the writer into the mainstream spotlight. Avid children's book writer Dr Seuss has come to the attention of social media users after six of his books have been banned by his own estate because of having racist and insensitive content. Dr Seuss, who was born as Theodor Geisel, is known for his brilliant works in the publishing industry for over two decades. Some of his books were racially loaded in an era when such insensitivity was a norm.
However, the writer later apologized and went on to pen some of the best selling children's books loved by a diverse audience and winning acclaim from Ex-Us president Barack Obama and Melania Trump.
Some of his books include The Cat in The Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Lorax, Fox in Socks, Horton Hears A Who!, Hop on Pop, Mr Brown Can Moo! Can you?, and a book that goes by his own name - Dr. Seuss. The writer has been a controversial figure due to his books imparting racist and anti-Semitic content ever since he was a student at Dartmouth College back during the 1920s.
The publisher Dr Seuss Enterprises stated that it has made the move as it wants to protect the legacy of the writer. Talking about the banning of Dr Seuss books, the publisher said that the list of banned titles portrayed people in a way that are hurtful and wrong.
Dr Seuss: List of Banned Books
- And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937)
- McElligot's Pool (1947)
- If I Ran the Zoo (1950)
- Scrambled Eggs Super! (1953)
- On Beyond Zebra! (1955)
- The Cat's Quizzer (1976)
Moreover, the six banned titles aren't exactly considered his more popular work and won't be published going forward. Social media users poured in outrageous comments while some even supported the move. One of the Dr Seuss fans said: "The works of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to us as Dr. Seuss, have sparked a love for reading in generations of students. His whimsical wordplay and curious characters inspire children to dream big," while another slammed Joe Biden for removing Dr Seuss from "Read Across America" saying, "Joe, just because you can't read them doesn't mean they're racist!"
