Posted on March 12, 2021 at 10:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

There may be such a thing as bad publicity, but it turns out that the attention Dr. Seuss received earlier this month doesn’t fit that description.

Outrage over Dr. Seuss Enterprises’s decision to no longer print six obscure titles seems to have sent sales of his popular and still-available books soaring, reports Publishers Weekly.

NPD Book Scan typically sees an increase in Seuss sales during that particular time, since it aligns with Read Across America Day, but this year’s figures far outpace 2020’s.

For instance: Cat in the Hat sold about 105,000 copies last week, compared to 22,000 copies in the first week of March last year; similar spikes were recorded for Green Eggs and Ham (90,000, up from 34,000), One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (88,000, up from 26,000), and Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (74,000, up from 43,000).

The six titles in question — McElligot’s PoolOn Beyond Zebra!Scrambled Eggs Super!The Cat’s QuizzerAnd to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, and If I Ran the Zoo — contain images that “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.”

Dr. Seuss Enterprises said in its statement that the decision to stop publishing and licensing the books came last year in response to a review undertaken with a panel of experts.

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Categories: Today in Books

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