Dr Seuss

09/24/2021

Dr. Seuss: 30 Years Later

Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel, remains a well-loved and controversial figure thirty years after his death on September 24, 1991. A prolific author, his first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, based on the street he grew up on in Springfield, Massachusetts, was published in 1937, and earlier this year was one of the six books that his estate decided not to continue printing due to some of its racist imagery and language. Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced on March 2, 2021, that this book and five others, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligott’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra! Scrambled Eggs Super! and The Cat’s Quizzer, would stop publication because of racist stereotypes and offensive content in the stories themselves.  While none of the books have been banned, per se, the publisher has not requested they be pulled from libraries or schools, this decision led to a discussion about censorship and “cancel culture”, with many railing against the choice. The controversy, however, in no way diminishes his contribution to children’s literature.

His importance on children’s literacy cannot be overstated. With Dr. Seuss’s rhymes, imaginative characters and word play, generations of kids developed a love of reading that led them to success.  It is hard to imagine any children’s library without copies of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and The Cat in the Hat, or a graduation party without Oh, The Places You’ll Go! And the holidays would be incomplete for many without watching The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

Beyond the beautiful simplicity of the words and the creative meters of his rhymes, Dr. Seuss’s books teach fun and important life lessons. The Lorax’s message about environmentalism is perhaps even more important now as it was when first published, and amidst global calls for peace, The Butter Battle Book still brings kids timely, substantive reading.

Over the course of his long career, Dr. Seuss published over 60 children’s books, had over 222 million in print, and was translated into more than 15 languages. His influence on children’s reading will persist long after the dust settles on any controversy on his characters. Click here for the Dr. Seuss books currently in our catalog.