Six books by one of the most well-known authors of children’s book in history, Dr. Seuss, are set to be pulled from publication due to racist imagery, and conservatives are already blaming President Joe Biden.
The announcement came Tuesday morning Dr. Seuss Enterprises, who told the Associated Press that the books in question “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.”
And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, The Cat’s Quizzer, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, and Scrambled Eggs Super! are the books slated to go out of print, a decision the company said it made after months of deliberation and consulting with “teachers, academics and specialists in the field.”
Conservatives immediately linked the news to their previous claims that Biden “canceled” Dr. Seuss by not including his books in his Read Across America Day proclamation this year, a date that coincides with the author’s birthday and has therefore historically involved mentioning him.
So that’s it: Biden simply didn’t mention Dr. Seuss’s birthday, and therefore conservatives are now holding him responsible for “canceling” the author entirely.
All of this comes after a Virginia school district came under fire for “canceling” Dr. Seuss as well.
Loudoun Schools was accused by conservative media of banning Dr. Seuss books from school libraries. In actuality, they also simply decided to quietly stop promoting the books as part of Read Across America Day.
“We continue to encourage our young readers to read all types of books that are inclusive, diverse and reflective of our student community, not simply celebrate Dr. Seuss,” they wrote in a statement after the backlash intensified.
While they did also make mention of the racial concerns that are backed up by extensive studies and clearly are also shared by the group responsible for continuing publication of the author’s work, they made sure to stress that the books are still readily available for all students to check out at libraries throughout the district.
