The first original work from Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel in 25 years was made available for pre-ordering Wednesday by publisher Random House, which said it was one of three manuscripts found in the La Jolla home of the beloved children's book author.
"What Pet Should I Get?" is scheduled to be published July 28, according to Random House.
The publisher said a box filled with pages of text and sketches was found shortly after Geisel's death in 1991 when his widow Audrey was remodeling their home. At that time, it was set aside with other materials that had belonged to the author.
The manuscript was rediscovered in the fall of 2013 by Audrey Geisel and Claudia Prescott — the author's longtime secretary and friend — when they were cleaning out his office space, according to Random House.
"While undeniably special, it is not surprising to me that we found this because Ted always worked on multiple projects and started new things all the time — he was constantly writing and drawing and coming up with ideas for new stories," his widow said. "It is especially heartwarming for me as this year also marks 25 years since the publication of the last book of Ted's career, `Oh, the Places You'll Go!"'
The publisher says the story "captures a classic childhood moment" when a brother and sister go to a pet store and are faced with choosing just one animal. It's the first original Seuss story in 25 years.
"This is a Dr. Seuss that you're going to recognize instantly," said Cathy Goldsmith, a Random House vice president.
"We believe that he wrote and illustrated 'What Pet Should I Get?' somewhere between 1958 and 1962 — as the brother and sister in the book are the same as those in his bestselling beginner book 'One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish,' which was published in 1960," Goldsmith said.
It was not announced when the other two works would be published.
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