List of Dr Seuss Books

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr Seuss, stands as one of the most famous children’s book writers in the world. He published many different books in his lifetime, so much so that it can be difficult to decide which to read first. To help you, we’ve prepared a proper list of Dr Seuss’s books in the order to read them.

The Pocket Book of Boners (1931)

The first of Dr Seuss’ many written works featuring illustrations by himself. Its name references its contents, with “boner” a common slang in the early 20th century for a silly mistake. The book contains 22 different boners, along with many jokes and humorous notes by Dr Seuss, each composed of four sentences, at most.

One of those publications took place in 1941, before the start of WWII, which made the book a popular distraction for soldiers during the war. In fact, by the end of the war, The Pocket Book of Boners had an estimated 1.34 million copies around the world.

And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937)

Dr Seuss’ first-ever children’s book tells the story of a young boy named Marco as he walks down the titular Mulberry Street. Marco sees something on the way that he wants to tell his father on coming home. As he walks down the street, though, he embellishes his story, turning a pedestrian sight into a fantastic and dream-like parade. But in the end, he simply tells his father what he actually saw: a simple horse-drawn wagon.

And To Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street received a warm response from critics at its first publication, although it initially suffered from low sales. More recently, Dr Seuss’ estate withdrew the book from publication in 2021 over various racist illustrations. This caused a backlash from conservative circles, while also causing a surge in demand for second-hand copies of the book on eBay and other sites.

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938)

Set in the fictional medieval Kingdom of Didd, this book tells the story of a peasant boy named Bartholomew Cubbins. While selling berries, the king unexpectedly passes by, prompting Cubbins to take off his hat as a show of respect. However, every time he takes off his hat, another hat inexplicably appears on his head.

The king’s soldiers and servants all try to take Cubbins’ hat off his head, but a new hat keeps on appearing. Eventually, the king’s nephew simply tries to kill Cubbins, but the king stops the execution in time. The hats stopped reappearing after the 500th one, with the king buying all the hats in exchange for 500 gold coins.

Dr Seuss admitted he took inspiration for the book from his own hobby of collecting novelty hats. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins also marked the doctor’s first experiment with storytelling in prose instead of with rhymes. Critics warmly received the book, with their only complaint focused on its short length.

Much like Dr Seuss’ previous book, The King’s Stilts’ takes place in a fictional medieval kingdom, the Kingdom of Binn. It tells the story of King Birtram who tries to protect his kingdom from bird pests called nizzards. The nizzards feed on a ring of trees that surround the kingdom and also protect it from floods.

The king also has a habit of going around on a pair of red stilts, which exasperates his servants for how undignified they make him look. Eventually, one of the king’s servants hides the stilts, but this causes King Birtram to become depressed, and neglect his duties.

As the nizzards attack the trees in the king’s absence, a servant boy named Eric finally returns the stilts. This snaps King Birtram from his depression, and he quickly puts things back into order.

The Seven Lady Godivas (1939)

Set in medieval England, it tells the story of the historical Lady Godiva and her six sisters. The Godiva sisters constantly go around naked, claiming they see no need to disguise themselves in any way. After their father dies from a horse accident, the sisters swear to never marry, before setting out on their quest to prove the dangers of horses to their countrymen.

One of Dr Seuss’ few works explicitly meant for an adult audience, he actually hesitated to publish the book at first. His hesitation proved prescient as the book sold poorly. However, as his fame increased over the following decades, The Seven Lady Godivas received additional publications, which proved more successful than its first run.

Centered around the titular elephant Horton, Horton gets convinced by a lazy bird named Mayzie to sit on her egg. Mayzie then goes on vacation in Palm Beach, Florida, while Horton goes around the country with a circus. All that time he continues to watch over the egg, refusing to abandon it even after it puts his life at risk.

Eventually, the circus passes by Palm Beach, with Mayzie returning to demand the egg back. However, the egg hatches with an elephant-bird hybrid that sees Horton as his parent. Horton and his new child stay with the circus, leaving Mayzie with nothing.

Horton Hatches the Egg is one of Dr Seuss’ most successful works, even receiving an animated adaptation by Warner Brothers in 1942. Critics expressed surprise at Dr Seuss writing a morality tale and even found it somewhat forced. That said, they praised the story for smoothly merging comedy and morality together. Horton Hatches the Egg later became cited in various discussions covering topics ranging from adoption, Christianity, economics, and even feminism.

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