The Dr. Seuss library at UC San Diego held a special celebration Tuesday for the release of a never-before-published Dr. Seuss book.
"Horse Museum" is about creating and looking at art, and it's based on a manuscript by Theodore Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, and sketches discovered by Geisel's widow in 2013.
“(The original sketches) are very rough but in pencil,” said Lynda Claassen, director of Special Collections and Archives at UC San Diego’s Geisel Library. “Because his drawings here and all that was left are so sketchy, a different artist was hired to do the illustrations for the published book.”
The book, illustrated by Andrew Joyner, teaches kids about how different artists look at the same object and see different things, Claassen said. Inside, there are full-color reproductions of artworks by acclaimed artists like Picasso, George Stubbs and Rosa Bonheur — to name a few — all of which featured a horse.
“I think the intention is when you’re young and are still sort of forming opinions, and things like that, that this book would be very useful,” Claassen said. “I don’t think a college student would dismiss this out of hand if they’ve never had an art history class or thought about art. It’s still valid for them.”
The book also includes cameos by classic Dr. Seuss characters such as the Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant and the Grinch. Claassen said the lessons in the book are similar to other Dr. Seuss books, like the value of imagination.
Theodore Geisel died in 1991. UCSD dedicated the Geisel Library in 1995 to honor him and his widow, Audrey, after receiving a $20 million gift from them. Audrey died last year.
The library holds more than 20,000 Dr. Seuss memorabilia, including original drawings, sketches and drafts.
