 | |
| Author | Dr. Seuss |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Published | March 2, 1986 |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| Preceded by | The Butter Battle Book |
| Followed by | I Am Not Going to Get Up Today! |
You're Only Old Once! A Book for Obsolete Children is a 1986 picture book for adults by Dr. Seuss, released on Geisel's 82nd birthday. [1] It was his first book for adults in 47 years.
The book follows an elderly man on a visit to the Golden Years Clinic, where he endures long waits and bizarre medical tests.
You're Only Old Once! was written shortly after Geisel had suffered through a series of illnesses, during which he spent a considerable amount of time in hospital waiting rooms. To pass the time, he began sketching images of hospital machines and scenes of medical procedures. He later began to work those ideas into a book. Geisel quipped that he was "fed up with a social life consisting entirely of doctors". [2]
You're Only Old Once! was Seuss's first adult book since The Seven Lady Godivas , which was published in 1939. The Seven Lady Godivas sold fewer than 500 copies when it was first released, [3] but You're Only Old Once! reached No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list, [4] and remained on the list for over 60 weeks. [5]
The book's subtitle, A Book for Obsolete Children refers to a quote by Dr. Seuss describing why he did not enjoy writing for adults. After the failure of The Seven Lady Godivas, Seuss said in an interview, "Adults are just obsolete children, and the hell with them". [6] [7]
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American children's author and cartoonist. He is known for his work writing and illustrating more than 60 books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. His work includes many of the most popular children's books of all time, selling over 600 million copies and being translated into more than 20 languages by the time of his death.
The Cat in the Hat is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by American author Theodor Geisel, using the pen name Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow tie. The Cat shows up at the house of Sally and her brother one rainy day when their mother is away. Despite the repeated objections of the children's fish, the Cat shows the children a few of his tricks in an attempt to entertain them. In the process, he and his companions, Thing One and Thing Two, wreck the house. As the children and the fish become more alarmed, the Cat produces a machine that he uses to clean everything up and disappears just before the children's mother comes home.
Irving Wallace was an American best-selling author and screenwriter. He was known for his heavily researched novels, many with a sexual theme.
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins is a children's book, written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published by Vanguard Press in 1938. Unlike the majority of Geisel's books, it is written in prose rather than rhyming and metered verse. Geisel, who collected hats, got the idea for the story on a commuter train from New York to New England, while he was sitting behind a businessman wearing a hat; the passenger was so stiff and formal that Geisel idly wondered what would happen if he took the man's hat and threw it out the window. Geisel concluded that the man was so "stuffy" that he would just grow a new one.
Horton Hatches the Egg is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published in 1940 by Random House. The book tells the story of Horton the Elephant, who is tricked into sitting on a bird's egg while its mother, Mayzie, takes a permanent vacation to Palm Beach. Horton endures a number of hardships but persists, often stating, "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent!" Ultimately, the egg hatches, revealing an elephant-bird, a creature with a blend of Mayzie's and Horton's features.
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street is Theodor Seuss Geisel's first children's book published under the name Dr. Seuss. First published by Vanguard Press in 1937, the story follows a boy named Marco, who describes a parade of imaginary people and vehicles traveling along a road, Mulberry Street, in an elaborate fantasy story he dreams up to tell his father at the end of his walk. However, when he arrives home, he decides instead to tell his father what he actually saw—a simple horse and wagon.
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories is a picture book collection by Theodor Seuss Geisel, published under his more commonly known pseudonym of Dr. Seuss. It was first released by Random House Books on April 12, 1958, and is written in Seuss's trademark style, using a type of meter called anapestic tetrameter. Though it contains three short stories, it is mostly known for its first story, "Yertle the Turtle", in which the eponymous Yertle, king of the pond, stands on his subjects in an attempt to reach higher than the Moon—until the bottom turtle burps and he falls into the mud, ending his rule.
Mo Willems is an American writer, animator, voice actor, and children's book author. His work includes creating the animated television series Sheep in the Big City for Cartoon Network, working on Sesame Street and The Off-Beats, and creating the popular children's book series Elephant and Piggie.
The King's Stilts is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel, under the pen name Dr. Seuss, and first published in 1939 by Random House. Unlike many Dr. Seuss books, it is narrated in prose rather than verse.
The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History's Barest Family is a picture book of the tale of Lady Godiva, written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss. One of Seuss's few books written for adults, its original 1939 publication by Random House was a failure and was eventually remaindered. However, it later gained popularity as Seuss himself grew in fame, and was republished in 1987 by "multitudinous demand".
McElligot's Pool is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published by Random House in 1948. In the story, a boy named Marco, who first appeared in Geisel's 1937 book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, imagines a wide variety of fantastic fish that could be swimming in the pond in which he is fishing. It later became one of the Seuss books featured in the Broadway musical Seussical where its story is used for the song "It's Possible".
Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book, also known as The Sleep Book, is an American children's book written by Dr. Seuss in 1962. The story centers on the activity of sleep as readers follow the journey of many different characters preparing to slip into a deep slumber. This book documents the different sleeping activities that some of the creatures join in on: Jo and Mo Redd-Zoff participate in competitive sleep talking and a group "near Finnigan Fen" enjoys group sleepwalking. It opens with a small bug, named Van Vleck, yawning. This single yawn sets off a chain reaction, effectively putting "ninety-nine zillion nine trillion and two" creatures to sleep.
Beginner Books is the Random House imprint for young children ages 3–9, co-founded by Phyllis Cerf with Ted Geisel, more often known as Dr. Seuss, and his wife Helen Palmer Geisel. Their first book was Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat (1957), whose title character appears in the brand's logo. Cerf compiled a list of 379 words as the basic vocabulary for young readers, along with another 20 slightly harder "emergency" words. No more than 200 words were taken from that list to write The Cat in the Hat. Subsequent books in the series were modeled on the same requirement.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a 1966 American animated television special, directed and co-produced by Chuck Jones. It is based on the 1957 children's book of the same name by Dr. Seuss, and tells the story of the Grinch, who tries to ruin Christmas for the townsfolk of Whoville below his mountain hideaway.
Helen Marion Palmer Geisel, known professionally as Helen Palmer, was an American children's writer, editor, and philanthropist. She was also the Founder and Vice President of Beginner Books, and was married to fellow writer Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, from 1927 until her death.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a Christmas children's book by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a cranky, solitary creature who attempts to thwart the public's Christmas plans by stealing Christmas gifts and decorations from the homes of the nearby town of Whoville on Christmas Eve. Miraculously, the Grinch realizes that Christmas is not all about money and presents.
Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, published over 60 children's books over the course of his long career. Though most were published under his well-known pseudonym, Dr. Seuss, he also authored a certain amount of books as Theo. LeSieg and one as Rosetta Stone.
The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories is a collection of seven illustrated stories by children's author Dr. Seuss published by Random House on September 27, 2011. Though they were originally published in magazines in the early 1950s, they had never been published in book form and are quite rare, described by the publisher as "the literary equivalent of buried treasure". The stories were discovered by Charles D. Cohen, a Massachusetts dentist and a Seuss scholar and biographer, who also wrote an introduction to the collection.
Brian Jay Jones is an American biographer, primarily of American pop culture icons. He is a former president of Biographers International Organization.
Horse Museum is a Dr. Seuss book released by Random House Children's Books on September 3, 2019. It is based on an unfinished manuscript by Theodor Seuss Geisel completed by Australian illustrator Andrew Joyner. 250,000 copies were released of the first printing.
The Seven Lady Godivas is the one and only book Geisel has ever written for adults, and adults don't interest him.
But when he got around to doing a grown-up book […] the grown-ups did not seem to want to buy his humor, and he went back to writing for children, becoming famous and wealthy. "I'd rather write for kids", he later explained. "They're more appreciative; adults are obsolete children, and the hell with them."