Contact The Editor
Articles By This Author
Dr. Seuss's picture books have encouraged children to learn to read with their imaginative rhymes for decades. Now, a new book inspired by recently discovered sketches and notes from the late artist and author is set to be published next year.
"Sing the 50 United States," will go on sale on June 2, 2026, more than three decades after Theodor Seuss Geisel's death, Seuss's estate and publisher announced Tuesday.
A manuscript for the book, storyboard sketches and some illustrations were found earlier this year in the archives of the University of California at San Diego's Geisel Library, Random House Children's Books and Dr. Seuss Enterprises said in a news release.
"Finding an original Dr. Seuss story is something we dream of," Judith Haut, executive vice president and deputy publisher of Random House Children's Books, said.
The book - which features the famed Cat in the Hat character - will include some original sketches from Seuss's manuscript and a map of the United States beneath the book jacket, Random House said. Other illustrations for the book were commissioned and drawn by artist Tom Brannon.
The first printing of 500,000 copies is timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the United States, Haut said.
Some scholars expressed doubt that the upcoming title is entirely an undiscovered original. Philip Nel, a university distinguished professor of children's literature at Kansas State University who has written books on Seuss's life and legacy, said the format and style of some of the illustrations shared by Random House look strikingly similar to those Seuss made for a project that was first published in 1967.
"It looks like something [Seuss] was going to include in the 'Cat in the Hat Songbook'" Nel said, adding that the latest work's significance "seems minor in terms of his legacy as a writer and an artist. It's interesting that it exists. If they include the manuscript pages, that will give people a glimpse into his creative process."
Classic children's books are a significant revenue stream for book publishers. Seuss's "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" ranked ninth among the top 10 best-selling books of 2025, according to NPD BookScan, which tracks the sales of physical books at most retailers.
Seuss died in 1991. Only one other Seuss book - titled, "What Pet Should I Get?" - has published since then, hitting store shelves in 2015.
Throughout his career, Seuss published more than 50 children's books and won numerous awards, including a Pulitzer Prize. His books have sold hundreds of millions of copies around the world and have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
He took his work "seriously," Nel said, adding that - contrary to popular belief - "writing for children is very hard."
Though beloved by many parents and elementary school libraries, Seuss's early work has come under scrutiny in recent years as critics began pointing out offensive and racist depictions of Asians, Africans and other racial groups in some of his children's books. In 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that it would no longer publish six Seuss titles due to offensive drawings.
"His legacy is a complex one," Nel said. "There's work to be celebrated and there is work that we should read more critically and more skeptically."