Following the recent discovery of an original manuscript and sketches by beloved children's author Dr. Seuss, a new book by the late author will be published in July and at least two other titles are planned, publisher Random House announced Wednesday.
"What Pet Should I Get?" will be published on July 28, nearly 24 years after the author's death. It will be the 46th book by the man whose publications have sold more than 650 million copies worldwide and appealed to generations.
His books have featured imaginative illustrations of fantasy characters and employed engaging rhyme. According to Random House, the new title will focus on a child's excitement over selecting a pet, and will feature the brother and sister characters introduced in Seuss' "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish."
Among the most famous titles written and illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel, whose books were published under the pseudonym Dr. Seuss, are "The Cat in the Hat," "Green Eggs and Ham," "Horton Hears a Who!" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"
Several of the books have been adapted into films, including "Horton Hears a Who!", "The Lorax" and "The Cat in the Hat."
His final book before his death, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!", was published in 1990. He died in Sept. 24, 1991, at the age of 87.
A box filled with pages of text and sketches was found shortly after Geisel's death when his widow, Audrey Geisel, was remodeling her home, according to Random House. The box was set aside and rediscovered in 2013 by Geisel and Claudia Prescott, Geisel's longtime secretary and friend, the publisher said.
The text and illustrations for "What Pet Should I Get?" were found nearly complete.
Geisel's widow called the discovery "undeniably special" but not surprising.
"Ted always worked on multiple projects and started new things all the time -- he was constantly drawing and coming up with ideas for new stories," she said, according to a statement by Random House.
Susan Brandt, president of licensing and marketing for Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P., described her reaction to the discovery.
"We had no idea what we were in store for when Claudia notified us of the materials discovered in Ted's home," she said in the statement. "Pages and pages of manuscripts and sketches were laid out on the big glass dining room table. It was truly a magical moment, and we immediately knew this was more than just a box of sketches."
The titles and publication dates for the other new books by Dr. Seuss will be announced later, Random House said.
