Dr Seuss titles to be axed

DR SEUSS books face being phased out of Australian school, public and tertiary libraries, following a decision to stop publishing six “hurtful” titles.

The move to cease printing has sparked outrage from lovers of the best-selling children’s books, but others say it is a savvy business decision designed to keep the Dr Seuss brand alive.

Dr Seuss’s 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 will no longer be published.

Australia’s peak library body said libraries would also review the titles.

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, the first children’s book from Dr Seuss, published in 1937, includes an illustration of a “Chinese man with sticks”, holding chopsticks and a bowl.

If I Ran The Zoo – first published in 1950 – features two barefoot men, described as African, wearing grass skirts and with their hair in knots.

“The publisher may have just hit this point but libraries would have done so some time ago, so you might find some of these Dr Seuss titles were removed a while ago,” Australian Library and Information Association chief Sue McKerracher said.

“Picture books are very carefully reviewed to make sure that they are absolutely appropriate and are current and not in anyway racist or bigoted or going to cause offence to the community.”

The Municipal Association of Victoria said it was not uncommon for council libraries to amend their catalogues “in keeping with community’s changing interests and needs”.

But the state’s education department will not order any Dr Seuss titles to be removed from school library shelves.

Dr Seuss Enterprises, the company that protects the late author’s legacy, said the six books “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong”.

“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,” it said.