Oh you never know what you’ll find. Twenty-five years after his death, a long lost Dr. Seuss book titled “What Pet Should I Get” is set for publication this week. The famous La Jollan died in 1991 at the age of 87. His widow Audrey, and his long-time secretary Claudia found the project while cleaning out boxes in their La Jolla home above La Jolla Country Club, in preparation for a remodel. Publisher Random House says “Audrey discovered a box filled with old sketches and writings while remodeling their La Jolla home after his death”. Seuss published 44 best-selling children’s books and sold more than 650,000 copies over the years.
Theodore (Ted) Geisel adopted the Dr. Seuss pseudonym while studying at Dartmouth College and the University of Oxford. His early career was as an illustrator for Life, Vanity Fair and other famous publications. After WWII Geisel and his wife moved to our very own La Jolla, where he spent his time writing children’s books. Upon moving here he wrote timeless favorites such as Horton Hears a Who (1955) The Cat in the Hat (1957) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957) and Green Eggs and Ham (1960)
“What Pet Should I Get” is a companion book to the infamous “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” book. In it, two siblings arrive in a pet store where they come across of variety of animals, including some imaginary ones and wonder which one to choose. Spoiler alert: the children leave the store empty handed realizing “Dad would be mad.”
The author’s wife Audrey told some news outlets that she was not surprised that he never published it along with “One Fish’’’ because he was “working on multiple projects at the same time and started new things all of the time.”
“What Pet Should I Get “ is scheduled to hit the book stores Tuesday July 28, 2015.
And remember as you go about your day what Dr. Seuss said:
“You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”