Five Dr. Seuss titles available for in-library use at the Children’s Library Circulation Desk

In a recent statement from Dr. Seuss Enterprises, certain titles with racist imagery will go out of print.

"Today, on Dr. Seuss's Birthday, Dr. Seuss Enterprises celebrates reading and also our mission of supporting all children and families with messages of hope, inspiration, inclusion, and friendship. We are committed to action," said Dr. Suess Enterprises. "To that end, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, working with a panel of experts, including educators, reviewed our catalog of titles and made the decision last year to cease publication and licensing of the following titles: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot's Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat's Quizzer. These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong. Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises's catalog represents and supports all communities and families."

Lake Forest Library owns copies of And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot's Pool, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and On Beyond Zebra! These books may no longer be checked out, but Lake Forest cardholders who would like to view these books may present a photo ID at the Children’s Library Circulation Desk and view the titles while remaining in the Children’s Library.

"This is not a new issue for public libraries," said Catherine A. Lemmer, Lake Forest Library Director. "Lake Forest Library has had conversations for some time around how to balance our values of intellectual freedom with the harmful stereotypes in many classic works of children's literature. At this time, we have not removed any Dr. Suess books from our collection, but some titles are available for use only in the Library."

Please feel free to contact Catherine Lemmer at 847.810.4602 with questions on this new policy. For questions on accessing or reading one of these titles, please contact the Children's Library at 847.810.4633.

For more information about Dr. Seuss Enterprises decision to cease publication of these titles, please visit one of the following articles:

For diverse and #ownvoices children’s books, please check out these lists of titles: