by Melissa Oleen Rowan Public Library
I
recently had the fun of assessing our Dr. Seuss collection and it is obvious
Dr. Seuss is still a much loved author and all of his books experience heavy
circulation. This past fall we replaced worn titles, restocked favorites that
had disappeared from our shelves and doubled our holding of the ever popular How the Grinch Stole Christmas just in
time for December.
The
motivation for this was the publication this year of a never before seen Dr. Seuss
book, What Pet Should I Get. Dr. Seuss passed away in 1991. A box
containing the manuscript and finished line art for this book was discovered by
a friend of Dr. Seuss and his long time secretary in 2013. They took it to Random House where Dr. Seuss’s
longtime art director, Cathy Goldsmith, was convinced that the work dated to
between 1958 and 1962. Goldsmith also
believes that the children in this book are the same children depicted in One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. One Fish is about a boy and girl who
meet all kind of unique creatures with special talents. What
Pet Should I Get is about two siblings who are allowed to pick out a
pet. They visit a pet store and discuss
all the different types of pets they see and try to narrow their choice down to
just one. This Dr. Seuss book leaves the
reader guessing as to just which pet they picked which can easily lead to a fun
discussion between the reader and the listeners.
While
updating the Seuss collection, I came across some less well-known Dr. Seuss
titles. You’re Only Old Once: A Book for Obsolete Children is a title that
anyone who has ever experienced “stethoscope row” and being “properly pilled”
and “properly billed” will appreciate.
This book is written for a much older audience than Dr. Seuss’ other
titles and showcases his adult wit. If medical appointments make up 70% of your
social calendar, this book will help you find some humor in it all.
Sneetches and other Stories contains
four short tales. If you need a shorter
Dr. Seuss story to read aloud before bedtime or to a group of children, one of
these stories might be just the thing.
My favorite is Too Many Daves
in which Mrs. McCave names all 23 of her children Dave!
Horton
and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories
is a collection of stories by Dr. Seuss that were first published in Redbook
magazine between 1950 and 1955. One of
the titles in this collection is How
Officer Pat Saved the Whole Town.
The plan was to publish this story as a stand alone book in 1957. This never happened because two little
titles, The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas came out
first that year and dramatically changed things for Dr. Seuss and his publisher
both of who never got back around to the Officer Pat story. It you are tired of reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas, this
collection includes The Hoobub and the
Grinch. This is not the same grinch
character but your young listener will see the similarities as this Grinch
works to sell a piece of green string by convincing the Hoobub it is better
than the sun. Not being one to spoil an
ending, I will leave it to you to come to the library and find out if he succeeded.
For
more information on Dr. Seuss, his books and the characters that appear in
them, visit the website, www.seussville.com. This interactive site is part of Random
House, LLC and has a lot of fun games, activities and videos as well as
information on each book. Dr. Seuss
wrote and illustrated 44 books for children and you can find them all at Rowan
Public Library.
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