What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss

Theodore Geisel, the real name of Dr. Seuss, passed away in La Jolla, California, in 1991, at the age of 87.  He left behind a treasure trove of beloved picture books and Beginner Books published by Random House.  He wanted to make reading fun for children and succeeded mightily in that goal.  Shortly after Ted died, his second wife, Audrey, found a box of his materials for future books--sketches, ideas, and snippets of humorous text, and the manuscript for what would become What Pet Should I Get?  With the help of his former secretary and friend, Claudia Prescott, and Ted's art director, Cathy Goldsmith at Random House, this latest picture book has seen the light of day.  How wonderful is it that Ted's creative stories and zany illustrations can delight a whole new generation of children!  Ted was a perfectionist who wrote draft after draft of his stories.  The editors for What Pet Should I Get? sometimes had to use their best judgement on which version would work best for this book published posthumously and believe that the good Dr. Seuss would be happy with the final results.  The age-old question for many families is what kind of pet they want.  In the story, we see Kay from The Cat in the Hat stories, and her brother in a pet store trying to choose a pet from the dozens of choices.  Their father has given them money for one pet and their mother has told them to come home by noon, so the rush is on to select the best pet....But it's so hard to choose between a dog, cat, fish, rabbit or a new kind of pet!  The illustrations at the end of the book show the brother carrying home a basket on his head with two eyes peeking out from under the lid.  The reader can decide for herself what pet the children decide to call their own.  This book is shorter and less complicated than many of the Dr. Seuss books, but no less delightful. The large format picture book is one I am looking forward to sharing with preschoolers in a storytime about pets at my outreach sites or at Wednesday morning storytimes at the library. ICPL has ten new copies of What Pet Should I Get? for bedtime reading to your child or for a young reader to tackle on his own.  Look for them on the New Picture Book shelves in the Children's Room. You won't be disappointed.