Saturday, April 9, 2011

Gad Seuss!

From reports by Kristina Lee FOX 5 San Diego and NPR

3:45 p.m. EDT, April 7, 2011


SAN DIEGO -- A book containing previously unpublished stories by the whimsical San Diego author known as Dr. Seuss will be on store shelves later this year.

"The Bippolo Seed and other Lost Stories" contains seven new stories written by Theodor Seuss Geisel.

"In these stories, we'll meet new characters. So you're going to meet the twins Todd and Tadd, you'll meet Gustav the Goldfish and a small boy name Henry McBride, as well as the other characters Dr. Seuss is known for," said Susan Brandt, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises in La Jolla.

The stories were discovered in old magazine pages offered for sale by a Massachusetts dentist and collector of the beloved children's author's work, NPR reports. A Random House exec traveled to his home, signed him up to write a book about Seuss, and jumped at the chance to publish the lost stories he had compiled.

Before Dr. Seuss became Dr. Seuss, He made a living in advertising. On the side, he wrote for Redbook Magazine where his first story was published in 1950.

"This is exciting for those of who grew up reading Dr. Seuss," Brandt said. "But also, how neat to share with our children new stories that we can discover the together."

While he was alive, Geisel published 44 books, including Green Eggs and Ham" and the "Cat in the Hat." The new book is due out Sept. 27, nearly 20 years after the author died.

"The stories will resonate with Seuss Fans because the personalities of these characters are very similar and recognizable," said Brandt. "In one of the stories we see a precursor to the 'Cat in the Hat Comes Back,' where that ring is in the bathtub."

Brandt said the author's widow, San Diego philanthropist Audrey Geisel, is excited about the new book and the renewed attention it is bringing to Dr. Seuss.

Random House plans to publish The Bippolo Seed and other Lost Stories. An exec describes it as "the literary equivalent of buried treasure," dating from the doc's most fertile creative period, when he wrote The Cat In the Hat, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and other favorites. "The stories are as good as anything in the already-published canon and readers of all ages are in for a treat," she says.

The Bippolo Seed is lined up for publication in September. "These stories were published during what could arguably be called Dr Seuss's most fertile creative period, a time that would yield both Cat in the Hat and Grinch, a time when his theories about how to reach children through rhyme, rhythm, and a resonant combination of nonsense and sagacity, were coming into full bloom," said Random House vice-president and publisher Kate Klimo. "The stories are as good as anything in the already-published canon and readers of all ages are in for a treat."

The new book includes stories like "Gustav the Goldfish, an early, rhymed version of A Fish Out of Water and The Strange Shirt Spot, which is similar to the bathtub-ring scene in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. The title story features a cat who leads an innocent duck to make a bad decision."

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