Arts and Culture

Dr. Seuss’ unreleased work to be edited by ‘racially diverse’ team amid backlash

March 4, 2022 | 9:05am

Dr. Seussâ�� unreleased work to be edited by â��racially diverseâ�� team amid backlash

Books by Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, including "On Beyond Zebra!" and "And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street," are offered for loan at the Chinatown Branch of the Chicago Public Library on March 02, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. The two titles are among six by the famed children's book author that will no longer be printed due to accusations of racist and insensitive imagery. The other titles include “If I Ran the Zoo,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.”

AFP / Getty Images / Scott Olson

MANILA, Philippines — Diversity and racial sensitivity will be at the forefront of the upcoming release of Dr. Seuss' unseen sketches, as an “inclusive” group of writers and artists from “diverse racial backgrounds” will edit the author's series of works before they're published for the first time ever. This is in response to the backlash from the "woke-washing" social media generation.

The news was announced on Wednesday by Dr. Seuss Enterprises, a company founded by the family of the famous children’s book author — whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel.

The sketches will serve as the basis for a new line of books that will be written and illustrated by the group. This came after Dr. Seuss was “cancelled” after six of his children’s books were attacked for allegedly expressing racist imagery.

The upcoming release will launch “inclusive” storylines inspired by the drawings, with the aim to “represent a diverse cross-section of racial backgrounds to represent as many families as possible,” according to representatives for Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

Meanwhile, the books will be published in a new Seuss Studios series, to be aimed at readers from ages 4 to 8. The first two titles are set to hit shelves next year.