Readable Children's Books

Theodor Seuss Geisel '25 was extremely successful even before he became one of the Bestselling authors in history. His films had won two Academy Awards. His ads for the insecticide Flit had made him very rich. And he had made his Seussonym a household name with McElligot's Pool and his books about Horton the Elephant. But it took a challenge from author John Hersey for Geisel to revolutionize children's lit. In 1954, Hersey lamented the dull state of kid primers, such as the odious Dick, Jane if Sally, which were populated by "abnormally courteous, unnaturally clean boys and girls." Why, Hersey asked, can't a jaunty writer like Dr. Seuss scale down his language for beginning readers?

Geisel went to his publisher, Random House's Bennett Cerf, and offered to do the job. Cerf told him that such a book would have to limit its vocabulary to a list of 225 words appropriate for beginning readers. The result: The Cat in the Hat, an instant bestseller. The book may be the most widely read by the under-eight set ever published, and it permanently changed the primer industry. When Seuss died in 1991, this magazine declared him the College's "most influential author."

By the way The Cat failed, ever so slightly, in just one area: vocabulary. The number of different words totals 228, three over Cerfs list.

The Doc found a cure for Dick, Jane & Sally.