New Dr. Seuss Book Will Hit Shelves

On July 28, 2015 the first new Dr. Seuss book in 25 years is scheduled to be released. The beloved children’s author, also known as Theodore Geisel, passed away in 1991 at the age of 87. Shortly after his death, his widow, Audrey, put a number of his papers away to review at a later date. In 2013, she and Geisel’s longtime assistant, Claudia Prescott, sorted through those papers and found a previously unpublished draft. The book is called What Pet Should I Get and is believed to have been written in the 1960s. Consisting of 16 black and white illustrations, the original draft had the text taped to the illustrations. Prescott relied on her familiarity with Geisel and was able to use subtle clues  to figure out what his view was for each page.

After the manuscript was discovered, Prescott took it to Cathy Goldsmith, now the vice-president at Random House. Goldsmith is the only person still at Random House who was employed there during Geisel’s career. As luck would have it, she was the art director during that time, and was able to use Geisel’s own techniques to colour and complete the work.

The new-to-us story still contains the familiar rhymes and simple yet eye-catching illustrations. It will also feature some familiar faces – the siblings from One Fish, Two Fish! Goldsmith believes that Geisel  may have liked One Fish, Two Fish more, setting this work aside in its favour.

The story may be over 50 years old, but if it is anything like Geisel’s prior works, such as Green Eggs and Ham and How The Grinch Stole Christmas, it is sure to stand the test of time.