Dr. Seuss's Long Lost Guide to Art History

Dr. Seuss's Horse Museum, released today by Random House Children’s Books, was developed from a manuscript rediscovered six years ago by the author’s widow. Illustrator Andrew Joyner skillfully fills in for Dr. Seuss, supplemented with photographic reproductions, to create a museum of only horse-related works of art. The book’s protagonist and narrator, a horse, walks (or trots) us through a history of art, from ancient times through modernism.

Using works from throughout the ages from the likes of Edouart Manet, Diego Rodriguez Velázquez, Edvard Munch and others, our narrator explains the who, what, and why of art. Some of Dr. Seuss’s most famous creations, the Cat in the Hat, the Grinch, and Horton the Elephant, also make appearances. Like all his works, Dr. Seuss's Horse Museum features playful language and an open-minded curiosity, encouraging readers to explore art and their own creativity.

One other Dr. Seuss work has been published posthumously. What Pet Should I Get?, which was found in the same forgotten box as the Dr. Seuss's Horse Museum manuscript, was published in 2015. It immediately became a best seller.

Born in 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel worked as a political cartoonist and in advertising before publishing his first book in 1937. He went on to write and illustrate 45 books for children, several of which have been made into films. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, three Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Caldecott Honors. In addition to crafting tongue-twistingly delightful rhymes and raucous stories of adventure, Geisel painted, sculpted and drew. In 2017, a museum dedicated to his life and works was opened in Springfield, MA. 

Perhaps the best-known children's author in the world, despite his death 28 years ago, his fame and popularity continue to grow.