You may remember Dr. Seuss’ books fondly and wonder what could be wrong with them. However, after looking at them now, you’ll see that your memory of what’s in those books is filtered by the nostalgia of reading them as a kid. As the New York Post reports, some of the stuff in them really is insensitive and stereotypical. For example, If I Ran the Zoo is full of racist imagery of African and Asian people. A paper published in the academic journal Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, and posted online by SOPHIA, noted that the African characters are “thick-lipped” and “potbellied.” Asian characters in the book are described as “helpers who all wear their eyes at a slant” and they come from “countries no one can spell.” Such a statement assumes one of two things: either the very characters in his book are illiterate, since they can’t even spell their own country’s name, or they’re not counted as people. That’s racist, doc.

For Dr. Seuss Enterprises, pulling the books off the shelves is just the first step in a larger process of making things right. “Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” the company said in a statement released on March 2, the author’s birthday.