New Dr. Seuss Book Earns Increased Print Run, Will Hit Shelves July 28

The new Dr. Seuss book, discovered in a box in 2013, is getting an increased print run after news of the picture book blew Random House's initial expectations out of the water.

The publisher announced Monday that it will double the original 500,000 order of Dr. Suess' "What Pet Should I Get?" to 1 million copies, The Wall Street Journal reported. The book will go on sale July 28, some 24 years after the author's death. 

"We were absolutely overjoyed to see the response to 'What Pet Should I Get?' from every corner of the book world — the bookselling community, media, educators, and readers nationwide," Barbara Marcus, president and publisher of Random House Children's Books, said in a news release Monday.

On Sunday, the book's Facebook page displayed the cover for the new book along with a 100-day countdown for its release.



"Ted [Geisel, Dr. Seuss' real name] loved and had pets himself, as a young boy on up through adulthood, and that makes the wonderful excitement and buzz for this new book all the more special," Susan Brandt, president of licensing and marketing for Dr. Seuss Enterprises, told CNN recently.

Dr. Seuss died in 1991 after a long career writing that included sketching children books. His books "The Cat in the Hat" and "Green Eggs and Ham" have stood the test of time and remain popular today. Such enduring characters and storylines like "The Lorax" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" have even been made into major motion pictures.

Geisel's wife, Audrey Geisel, found the material used for "What Pet Should I Get?" in a box shortly after her husband's death. She reportedly forgot about it until 2013 when the sketches were rediscovered by a secretary cleaning out the author's office space. It is believed that Geisel created the pictures sometime between 1958 and 1962. 

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