Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, published over 60 children's books over the course of his long career. Though most were published under his well-known pseudonym, Dr. Seuss, he also authored a number of books as Theo. LeSieg and one as Rosetta Stone.
As one of the most popular children's authors of all time, Geisel's books have topped many bestseller lists, sold over 600 million copies and had been translated into more than 20 languages by the time of his death. In 2000, when Publishers Weekly compiled their list of the best-selling children's books of all time, 16 of the top 100 hardcover books were written by Geisel, including Green Eggs and Ham at number 4, The Cat in the Hat at number 9, and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish at number 13. In the years following his death in 1991, several additional books based on his sketches and notes were published, including Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! and Daisy-Head Mayzie. Although they were all published under the name Dr. Seuss, only My Many Colored Days, originally written in 1973, was entirely by Geisel.
Dr. Seuss books The bulk of Geisel's books were published under the name Dr. Seuss. The exceptions include Great Day for Up!, My Book about ME, Gerald McBoing Boing, The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary (credited to the Cat himself), 13 books credited to Theo. LeSeig, Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! and I Am Not Going to Get Up Today!, though all were in fact illustrated and written by Geisel. Note only first edition information is given.
The rights to the books and related media (films, TV shows, stage productions, exhibitions, digital media, licensed merchandise and other strategic partnerships) are owned by Dr. Seuss Enterprises.
No.TitleYearPublisher 1 1931 Viking PressThis book is a collection of humorous anecdotes and illustrations representing some of the earliest work credited to Dr. Seuss. The 1941 printing of The Pocket Book of Boners compiles four separate books that were issued in 1931. The first book was illustrated by Dr. Seuss. 2 And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street 1937 Vanguard Press (original issue)/Random House (reissue)Marco watches the sights and sounds of people and vehicles traveling along Mulberry Street and dreams up an elaborate story to tell to his father at the end of his walk. The first book written, created and originated by Dr. Seuss. Made into a Madcap Model Oscar-nominated short in 1944 in the Paramount Pictures series. 3 1938 Vanguard Press (original issue)/Random House (reissue)In the kingdom of Didd, King Derwin is riding through a street past Bartholomew Cubbins, a poor boy in the market. Bartholomew removes his hat according to the laws, but another hat mysteriously appears; when he attempts to remove this one too, another one appears again, and this continues, even as he removes more and more hats, each growing in extravagance and beauty. This is the first book for which Dr. Seuss did not write any words in rhyme. Made into a Madcap Model Oscar-nominated short in 1943 in the Paramount Pictures series. 4 1939 Random HouseThe story of King Birtram of Binn, who dedicates himself to safeguarding his kingdom, which has a precarious existence. It is surrounded by water, which is held back from flooding the land by a ring of dike trees, which are in turn subject to attack from flocks of Nizzards. To protect the kingdom, a legion of Patrol Cats is organized to keep the Nizzards at bay, and King Birtram sees to their care personally. 5 1939 Random HouseThe seven Lady Godivas each learn a moral while taking care of a horse. 6 Horton Hatches the Egg 1940 Random HouseAn elephant named Horton is convinced by an irresponsible bird named Mayzie to sit on her egg while she takes a short break, which proves to last for months. Made into a Merrie Melodies cartoon in 1942. 7 McElligot's Pool 1947 Random HouseA Caldecott Honor Book. A boy named Marco is ridiculed for fishing in a small, polluted pool, and tries to justify himself by imagining the fish he might catch. It is one of the few books by Geisel to use paintings as the medium for its illustrations, rather than his common use of pen and ink. 8 Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose 1948 Random HouseThidwick, a moose who lives in a herd of "about sixty or more", accepts a bug living on his antlers for free, who tells a spider of the free housing, and both accept a "Zinn-a-zu" bird, and this leads to a whole host of freeloaders taking up residence. 9 Bartholomew and the Oobleck 1949 Random HouseA Caldecott Honor Book. Bartholomew must rescue the kingdom from a sticky substance called Oobleck. The sequel to The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. 10 If I Ran the Zoo 1950 Random HouseA Caldecott Honor Book. Gerald McGrew visits a zoo and finds that the animals are "not good enough" and describes how he would run the zoo. He would let all of the current animals free and find new, more bizarre and exotic ones. 11 Gerald McBoing-Boing 1952 Simon & Schuster/Random House (current reissue)/Golden Books (former reissue)Based on the Academy Award-winning 1950 short film of the same name. First Dr. Seuss book not illustrated by Geisel. 12 Scrambled Eggs Super! 1953 Random HouseA young boy named Peter T. Hooper spins a tale of an incredible meal he created by harvesting the eggs of fantastically exotic birds. 13 Horton Hears a Who! 1954 Random HouseHorton the Elephant of the Jungle of Nool hears a speck of dust talking to him. The speck of dust is actually a tiny planet, home to a city called Who-ville, inhabited by microscopic-sized inhabitants known as Whos and led by a character known as the Mayor. The sequel to Horton Hatches the Egg. Adapted into a 1970 television special and a 2008 feature length CGI film. 14 On Beyond Zebra! 1955 Random HouseThe young narrator, not content with the confines of the ordinary alphabet, invents additional letters beyond Z, with a fantastic creature corresponding to each new letter. 15 If I Ran the Circus 1956 Random HouseBehind Mr. Sneelock's ramshackle store, there is an empty lot. Little Morris McGurk is convinced that if he could just clear out the rusty cans, the dead tree, and the old cars, nothing would prevent him from using the lot for the amazing, world-beating, Circus McGurkus. The sequel to If I Ran the Zoo. 16 1957 Random House/Houghton MifflinThe Cat in the Hat brings his companions, Thing One and Thing Two, to a household of two young children one rainy day. Chaos ensues while the children wonder how they are going to explain what happens to their mother. The first Beginner Books entry written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss and the book that started the line, Geisel wrote it using only 236 words in response to a concern that the primers popular at the time, such as those featuring the characters Dick and Jane, were too dull to effectively teach children to read. Decades later, Geisel would call this the book he was most proud of, as it helped end the use of those primers. Adapted into a 1971 television special, a PC game from Living Books and a 2003 feature-length film, with an upcoming CGI adaptation to be released in 2026. 17 How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 1957 Random HouseThe Grinch, a bitter, cave-dwelling creature, raids the town of Who-ville, where he tries to steal everything related to Christmas by impersonating Santa Claus. Eventually, he realizes he has a heart for Christmas after all. Adapted into a 1966 television special, a 2000 feature-length film, a 2018 feature length CGI film, and an annual musical. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic shut down the theater and the production created a free radio drama show. 18 Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories 1958 Random HouseConsists of three stories: Yertle the Turtle: Unsatisfied with the stone that serves as his throne, the king turtle commands the other turtles to stack themselves beneath him so that he can see further and expand his kingdom. Gertrude McFuzz: The "girl-bird" Gertrude McFuzz has one small, plain tail feather and envies Lolla-Lee-Lou, who has two fancy tail feathers. The Big Brag: A rabbit and a bear both boast that they are the "best of the beasts", because of the range of their hearing and smelling abilities, respectively. 19 1958 Random HouseThe Cat in the Hat returns, bringing along Little Cat A nested inside his hat. Little Cat A doffs his hat to reveal Little Cat B, who in turn reveals Little Cat C, and so on down to the microscopic Little Cat Z. Together they try to get rid of a pink ring that has spread from the bathtub to the dress, to the wall, into some shoes, and finally out onto the snow where they work to get rid of it. 20 Happy Birthday to You! 1959 Random HouseDeals with a fantastic land, called Katroo, where the Birthday Bird throws everyone an amazing party on their special day. 21 One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish 1960 Random HouseA simple rhyming book for learner readers with a freewheeling plot about a boy and a girl and the many amazing creatures they have for friends and as pets. 22 Green Eggs and Ham 1960 Random HouseSam-I-Am tries to offer an unnamed man (who is also the narrator; later named Guy-Am-I in the 2019 animated series) a plate of green eggs and ham. The man refuses to eat the food, insisting that he would not like it until the end. Following a series of successful Dr. Seuss books intended for beginning readers and using limited vocabularies, the book was the result of a $50 bet between Geisel and his editor Bennett Cerf that Geisel could not write a book using only 50 unique words; it contains exactly 50. Adapted into a 1973 television special and a 2019 animated series, both by Warner Bros. Animation. Also adapted into a PC game by Living Books. 23 1961 Random HouseConsists of four stories: The Sneetches: Because the Star-Bellied Sneetches are being prejudicial to the Plain-Bellied Sneetches, a "fix-it-up chappie" named Sylvester McMonkey McBean appears and offers the Sneetches without stars a chance to have them by going through his Star-On Machine. Adapted into a 1973 television special. The Zax: A North-Going Zax and a South-Going Zax meet face to face in the Prairie of Prax. They refuse to move out of the way for one another and end up staying there. Teaches the value of compromise. Adapted into a 1973 television special. Too Many Daves: A mother, Mrs. McCave, who named all 23 of her sons Dave and has trouble telling them apart.