Dr. Seuss Books In Order

Publication Order of Horton the Elephant Books

Publication Order of The Cat in the Hat Books

Publication Order of Picture Books

Publication Order of Children's Books

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Dr. Seuss is the pen name of celebrated American author Theodor Seuss Geisel. He has also written under the pen name of Theo Le Sieg. He is best known for his incredibly popular children’s books and is a global bestseller with over half a billion books sold.

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904, in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1925, he graduated from Dartmouth College. Not stopping there, he attended Oxford University and wanted to get a doctorate in literature there. It was at Oxford that he met the woman who would be his wife, Helen Palmer. The two of them were officially joined in marriage in 1927.

He went to Europe and returned the same year that he was married. When he got back, he started working for Judge, a magazine. It was actually the most popular humor magazine being published in the United States at the time. He would submit humorous articles in addition to cartoons for Judge magazine. He also would submit his cartoons to Liberty, Vanity Fair, and Life magazine.

Inside his cartoons, Dr. Seuss would reference Flit, an insecticide. Eventually, the references piled up and people started noticing them. This led to him drawing comic ads professionally for Flit, who put Seuss under contract. The pairing continued for far longer than one might think– seventeen years of insecticide company and author partnership. Not only did this get him more work, but he hit a level of national exposure that other authors would have been envious of. He also coined a catchphrase during this time that involved a wife calling to her husband to get the Flit, quick!

Geisel was on his way to Europe for a vacation in 1936 when he was riding on a ship. He was hearing the rhythm of the engines in the ship and then immediately was hit with the idea for And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. He showed it to over forty publishers, who immediately rejected it. But when a friend published it in 1937, Mulberry Street went on to some success.

During World War II, Geisel joined up with the army. He ended up being sent to Hollywood and became a Captain. He would go on to write for Frank Capra’s Signal Corps Unit, which led to him being awarded a Legion of Merit. He also wrote documentaries. He was very good at it too because Geisel ended up winning Oscar Awards for his work on Hitler Lives as well as Design for Death. Geisel also made up a cartoon that he then called Gerald McBoing-Boing. This too earned Geisel an Oscar award as well.

Life magazine published a report about school children and illiteracy in May of 1954. It stated that children were struggling to learn to read because the books that they were learning from were too dull to hold their interest. His publisher was inspired to ask Geisel if he would write a book based on some basic words.

He sent Theodor Geisel a list comprising 400 words that his publisher thought were important. The publisher asked Geisel if it would be possible for him to reduce the list to a mere three hundred words instead, which was how much that he though a first grader might be able to absorb. Geisel did him one better and used 200 words out of the list given to him to write a book that he handed in nine months after the initial challenge. This would end up being The Cat in the Hat, a children’s reader book that became instantly popular and has remained an American classic for years.

In 1960, Bennet Cerf bets the author that he could not write an entire book using just fifty words. Seuss decided that he definitely could do that and ended up writing the book Green Eggs and Ham. However, Cerf never paid up and Seuss never paid him the fifty dollars from the bet, but the public gained another classic.

In 1967, his wife passed away. He got married to Audrey Stone Diamond and took her as his wife in 1968. Theodor Seuss Geisel passed away on September 24, 1991.

His first book published in a series was Horton Hatches the Egg. It was released for public consumption in 1940. The sequel, Horton Hears a Who!, was released fourteen years later. It stars the main character of Horton, an elephant who lives alone in a jungle somewhere. Horton is a kind and shy elephant for whom no good deed goes unpunished.

Horton Hatches the Egg is the first book in the illustrated Horton series. Horton the Elephant is a kind soul that is always willing to help someone in need. Even if the animal need is the lazy Mayzie bird, who is never doing what she should. She wants to go on holiday, and the dependable Horton agrees to sit on her egg when she is gone. This is something that is hilarious to every other animal in the jungle, and they all laugh when they see poor Horton sitting on this egg.

When the egg and Horton are kidnapped from the forest and they are sold off to a circus, they are in big trouble. Will Horton lose the egg and let Mayzie bird down? Read this cute book to find out what happens!

Horton Hears a Who! is the second picture book in this fun Dr. Seuss series. Children of all ages will love this amusing book from the inventive children’s author. Horton is back, and the plucky elephant is just hanging out in the jungle one day when he hears a sound.

Horton is splashing in a pool of water when he thinks that he hears a tiny voice speaking to him from a speck of dust. Horton looks closer and he is right! There is a whole city of people that are preserved on a small piece of dust.

Horton is on a mission to protect the speck from any harm. Along the way, he must dodge enemies like a malicious kangaroo or mean eagle. In the end, Horton must convince the animals of the jungle that the people on the dust are real, or they might be destroyed forever. This colorful children’s book is a must-read for adults and kids alike.