McElligot's Pool

Dr. Seuss's 1947 story in verse opens with a boy named Marco fishing in McElligot's Pool, a small, trash-filled pond, while a passing farmer laughs at him. Marco reasons that an underground brook might link the pool to the sea, and imagines the fish that could swim his way, from one with a checkerboard stomach to a two-headed eel. In 2021 Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced it would stop publishing the book, saying it portrays people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.

Recommended by 1 person

Richard Branson: “I have been reading a lot of books by one of my favourite authors, Dr Seuss... There is more wisdom and humour in his cartoons and rhymes than in any number of lengthy and highbrow books.”