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.