25 Dr. Seuss Books to Start Your Child's Collection

Dr. Seuss Day is March 2 also known as National Read Across America Day.

It's common for schools to honor Dr. Seuss Day by inviting guess readers in to classrooms. One way to help your child's school is by volunteering or loaning books from your own collection that the school may not have in their library.

• Born Theodor Seuss Geisel, pen name Dr. Seuss, worked as a writer, poet, cartoonist for major magazines such as Life and Vanity Fair, illustrator for advertising companies, and a political cartoonist for a New York City magazine.
• In 1947, during World War II, Theodor Seuss Geisel worked in film animation for the United States Army, which film ultimately won an Academy Award.
• Dr. Seuss would often spend up to 12 months on one book.
• Dr. Seuss wrote and illustrated over 40 books.
• Dr. Seuss won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for his special contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America's children and their parents.
• In addition to all other accomplishments, Dr. Seuss won three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Caldecott Honors.
• Theodor Seuss Geisel passed away on September 24, 1991.

The books listed here will give you a general idea of the types of books that are useful in starting a collection.

Children love Dr. Seuss books well beyond preschool years. The colorful illustrations, the rhyming words, and the imaginative stories are just a few of the reasons to collect Dr. Seuss books.

Rhyming helps children with word pattern recognition which in turn helps learning to read easier for children entering Kindergarten.

The books here are all from our private library that I started when my children were small. They are listed in alphabetical order.

While there are many more books such as my favorites, Put Me in the Zoo and The Best Nest, those books weren't authored by Dr. Seuss, but they are part of the Dr. Seuss I can Read Beginner Book series.

Dr. Seuss's ABC was written in 1963. It was offered by Random House, Inc., as part of the Beginner Book series.

This book is perfect for children learning the alphabet. It's an excellent rhyming book using the letters of the alphabet to tell a story.

It uses a lot of repetition such as using letters in a triple pattern. Children learn sequencing and patterns.

This book is great to use for other activities. After enjoying Dr. Seuss's ABC book, children can participate in craft time writing the first letter of their name or cutting out the first letter of their name from construction paper.

Originally written in 1937, and renewed in 1964, this is the very first children's by Dr. Seuss and was rejected by 27 publishers at first.

Mulberry Street was a less than mile from the childhood home of Dr. Seuss, and it's location is in Springfield, Massachusetts.

This is a poetry book for young children, best read aloud.

Dr. Seuss published this much celebrated book in 1957 in response to a concern that illiteracy was growing among children.

The Cat in the Hat is first in the series of Beginning Books by Random House.

A rhyming book for children about a cat who comes to play on a rainy day.

Originally written in 1958 as a sequel to The Cat in the Hat. This book is another example of an early reading book by Dr. Seuss. This time the Cat in the Hat comes around when there is snow on the ground.

On the cover of this book, you will note that Dr. Seuss wrote the book as Theo. LeSieg.

This is explained in the introduction of the book. Books illustrated by others were by Theo. LeSieg which is Dr. Seuss's real name, Geisel, spelled backwards.

The Eye Book was written in 1968. An introductory book to the world of seeing and reading using two cartoons for the characters of the book. A blue eyed boy and a pink eyed rabbit entice children to rhyme and read.

The Foot Book was written in 1968. We also have the baby board book edition of The Foot Book. It's a wonderful book to introduce to babies and young toddlers when they are starting to walk.

It's a book about opposites.

Together with Dr. Seuss, Grolier Marketing featured books in The Beginning Readers Program.

The Foot Book was one of the earliest books in the program and was sent as the first book as a freebie.

Written in 1965, Fox in Socks was a book of tongue twisters.

On the front of the book is an inscription which reads, "This is a book you real aloud to find out just how smart your tongue is. The first time you read it, don't go fast! This Fox is a tricky fox. He'll try to get your tongue in trouble."

Bright and Early Books were an offspring of the Beginner Books series.

First published in 1974, Dr. Seuss used the drawings of Quentin Blake who taught illustration at the Royal College of Art in England. This was Quentin Blake's first Bright and Early Book from the Dr. Seuss series.

Ingredients:

Ham steaks or leftover baked ham

Eggs

Green food coloring or homemade spinach coloring (water leftover from boiled spinach will color food naturally as well)

Salt & Pepper to taste

How to make:

Fry up the ham steaks or leftover baked ham. Add a few drops of green food coloring while frying.

For scrambled eggs, mix food coloring in a bowl with eggs and scramble in a pan.

For sunny side up fried eggs, crack eggs in a pan greased with butter and add a few drops of green food coloring to the top of theyolk.

Extra:

Make pancakes with green food coloring.

Green Eggs and Ham was chosen as one of the top 100 picture books of all times!

First published in 1960, this classic book written by Dr. Seuss was named one of the top selling children's books of all times.

This book was written with just 50 words!

1. a
2. am
3. and
4. anywhere
5. are
6. be
7. boat
8. box
9. car
10. could
11. dark
12. do
13. eat
14. eggs
15. fox
16. goat
17. good
18. green
19. ham
20. here
21. house
22. I
23. if
24. in
25. let
26. like
27. may
28. me
29. mouse
30. not
31. on
32. or
33. rain
34. Sam
35. say
36. see
37. so
38. thank
39. that
40. the
41. them
42. there
43. they
44. train
45. tree
46. try
47. will
48. with
49. would
50. you

First published in 1963. The inscription on the front reads, "The Simplest Seuss for Youngest Use."

It's an introduction to basic phonics and includes several short poems.

Former First Lady Laura Bush of the United States, listed it as her favorite book in the Wall Street Journal in 2006.

The original book was published in 1940.

We have the Kohls Cares for Kids version which is a hardcover book with a jacket cover from the Dr. Seuss Collector's Edition.

Horton was created by Dr. Seuss after taking a walk one day. Upon returning to his studio, a window had been left open and the wind blew one sketch on transparent paper on top of another, making it look like an elephant was sitting in a tree.

This book was originally published in 1954.

Dr. Seuss changed his views on life dramatically after World War II. He used this book to share the story of the American post-war occupation of the country of Japan.

In 1970, Horton Hears a Who! was a one-half hour television special.

In 2008, it was turned into a movie.

This book was first published in 1987.

The book is about a boy so sleepy that he vows nothing will get him out of bed. Neither peas and beans nor the United States Marines.

This book was first published in 1978.

Dr. Seuss created Beginning books for children so they could read them all by themselves. Using The Cat in the Hat in a lot of his illustrations as a recognized character for young children.

This book was published in 1950.

The original material published in this book first appeared in Redbook Magazine.

First published in 1970, this book was called Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises.

This was part of the Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners reading program.

"Oh my brothers! Oh my sisters! These are Terrible Tongue Twisters!"

First published in 1979.

A collection of word entanglements, hilarity and fun. A vocabulary-building book.

This book was published in 1990.

Rhyming advice for proceeding in life. Weathering fear, loneliness, and confusion. Being in charge of your actions.

This book was written for all ages. Wise and brief graduation speech. Dr. Seuss pictures the gret balancing act (life itself) with the ups and downs it presents while encouraging us to find the success that lies within oneself.

Originally published in 1975.

The sentences in this book are short and easy to read. Words in it are recognizable to young readers.

First published in 1960. This book is a simple rhyming book for young readers.

Millions of copies of this book have been sold.

There is a ride named after this book at the Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida.

First published in 1974, the original story was about a little boy talking about strange creatures living in his house.

A 1996 publication was edited to remove some of the more frightening creatures including a vug under the rug and a Red under the bed!

Published in 1948.

A moose with a big heart is taken advantage of by other animals.

The story explores hospitality and sharing.

This book was written for toddlers. It's a book of pettable pets. An interactive book from the first Dr. Seuss Nursery Collection. Adopted from the tale of One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.

First published in 1975.

This book poses a lot of questions to young readers such as, "Would you rather be a mermaid with a tail instead of feet?"

Originally published in 1950, we found this version from Kohls Cares for Kids.

The book is about a turtle with an overactive ego. A bird lets envy get the best of her. A bear and a rabbit get caught up in out doing one another. This book includes modern fables.

Dr. Seuss books are long-time family favorites. We started collecting Dr. Seuss books from yard sales, thrift stores, Amazon and eBay. Other department stores such as Target and Walmart also carry the beloved author's books.

Daisy-Head Mayzie was the last children's book ever written by Dr. Seuss. He did not illustrate it. It wasn't published until after he passed away. The publishing date was 1995.