This fall, Random House Children’s Books will publish a new book by Dr. Seuss, titled Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum, a celebration of art and the creative process. The publisher is planning a 250,000-copy first printing. The announcement came from Mallory Loehr, senior v-p and publisher at Random House Books for Young Readers, and Susan Brandt, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises.
The manuscript and sketches for the previously unpublished book were discovered in the late author’s La Jolla home 21 years after his death in 1991, along with the manuscript for the 2015 picture book What Pet Should I Get? In the new book, a horse leads a group of students on a tour of an art museum.
Brandt said in a statement, “We’re so excited to have Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum to share with readers, and to give them an inside look at how Ted thought about art, and how he viewed the world—which was with a creative eye, and a passionate belief in imagination. This new book will not only entertain as only Dr. Seuss can, but is sure to inspire conversations about the countless ways we each view the world around us. We happily expect that many children will be asking, ‘What do you see?’ after sitting with this latest creation by Dr. Seuss.”
Picking up where Seuss’s unfinished sketches left off, illustrator Andrew Joyner will provide the artwork. Joyner’s illustrations will be paired with full-color photographic reproductions of horse-themed artwork by Rosa Bonheur, Deborah Butterfield, Alexander Calder, Jacob Lawrence, Franz Marc, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, George Stubbs, and more. According to the publisher, the book will also feature “cameo appearances by classic Dr. Seuss characters (among them the Cat in the Hat, the Grinch, and Horton the Elephant).”
Cathy Goldsmith, Dr. Seuss’s former art director and current president and publisher of Beginner Books, is overseeing the process of preparing Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum for publication. Notably, Goldsmith is the sole remaining publishing executive at Random House to have worked directly with the late author and editor (who cofounded Beginner Books in 1957). Goldsmith stated, “I remember fondly the days when Ted would come to Random House to hand-deliver his latest work, which included reading aloud to staff gathered in a conference room. Poring over the manuscript and Ted’s original sketches for Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum brought me right back to those days, and I continue to be so honored to bring his brilliant work to today’s young readers.”
A publisher’s note at the end of the book details the discovery of the manuscript and sketches, Seuss’s appreciation of modern art, Joyner’s illustration process, and information about the artists and artworks showcased in the book.
