Dr. Seuss dominates USA TODAY bestseller's list amid controversy, takes six of Top 10 spots

Dr. Seuss dominates this week's USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list with "The Cat in the Hat" taking the No. 1 spot, the highest the title has appeared since the list's inception.

Sales for popular Dr. Seuss titles soared following the announcement that six of the children's book author's titles are no longer being sold because of racist and insensitive imagery.

The author claimed six spots in the USA TODAY's Top 10 ("The Cat in the Hat," "One Fish, Two Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish," "Green Eggs and Ham," "Oh, the Places You'll Go!," "Fox in Socks" and "Dr. Seuss's ABC"). His works accounted for a total of 33 places on the 150 rank list.

The full list will be published Thursday.

The six books that Dr. Seuss Enterprises discontinued are: “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.” None of them are currently available for sale from many retailers online or the official Dr. Seuss website. None of them made the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list.

On March 2, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the business that preserves and protects the author’s legacy, announced it would cease sales of these books.

“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises told The Associated Press in a statement that coincided with the late author and illustrator’s birthday.

The news has undoubtedly launched Dr. Seuss books back into the cultural conversation, though Read Across America Day, which also coincides with Dr. Seuss' birthday, usually leads to a renewed interest in his books and a yearly appearance on the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list. But the number of his books on the bestsellers list at one time is unprecedented.

Seuss' stepdaughter, Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, told the New York Post on Tuesday there "wasn’t a racist bone in that man’s body," but acknowledged she thought it was a "wise" choice "in this day and age." She said Dr. Seuss Enterprises informed her Monday of the decision.

"He was so acutely aware of the world around him and cared so much,’’ Dimond-Cates said. “I think this is a world that right now is in pain, and we’ve all got to be very gentle and thoughtful and kind with each other."

She added: “This is just very difficult, painful times that we live in. We’re taking that into account and being thoughtful. We don’t want to upset anybody.’’