Horse Museum (Dr. Seuss)

Horse Museum is a Dr. Seuss book released by Random House Children's Books on September 3, 2019.[1] It is based on an unfinished manuscript by Theodor Seuss Geisel completed by Australian illustrator Andrew Joyner.[1][2] 250,000 copies were released of the first printing.[3]

Horse Museum
AuthorDr. Seuss
Andrew Joyner
Cover artistAndrew Joyner
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's literature
PublisherRandom House
Publication date
September 3, 2019
Publication placeUnited States
Preceded byWhat Pet Should I Get? 

It is the seventh and currently last Dr. Seuss book released posthumously, following Daisy-Head Mayzie (1995), My Many Colored Days (1996), Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! (1998), The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories (2011), Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories (2014), and What Pet Should I Get? (2015).

Background

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Following the 1991 death of Geisel, his wife Audrey Geisel and assistant Claudia Prescott cleared his office, donating the bulk of his unpublished works to the University of California, San Diego and archiving a few others in a box.[4] In October 2013, they examined the manuscripts and sketches contained in the box, finding a folder marked "Noble Failures" of uncategorized drawings, a more complete project titled The Pet Shop which was later completed and released as What Pet Should I Get?, illustrations for flashcards, and a collection of sketches titled The Horse Museum.[4]

The unfinished manuscript was about 80% complete, and was accompanied only by rough sketches but not any completed original artwork by Geisel.[2]

Description

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The principal plot of Horse Museum is a horse leading a tour group of students through an art museum.[5] The book includes illustrations by Andrew Joyner, and colour photographic reproductions of horse-related artwork by artists including Rosa Bonheur, Deborah Butterfield, Alexander Calder, Jacob Lawrence, Franz Marc, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and George Stubbs.[5] Other artwork features the Grinch, Horton the Elephant, and The Cat in the Hat.[5]

The book contains a colophon with a publisher's note explaining background information about the book, including the discovery of the manuscript and associated sketches, artists and artworks depicted in the book, Geisel's interest in art, and Joyner's approach to illustration.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "New Dr. Seuss book coming this fall". CBC News. Associated Press. February 28, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "New Dr. Seuss book 'Horse Museum' to be released this fall". Good Morning America. February 28, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  3. ^ "New Dr. Seuss Book Coming This Fall, 28 Years After Theodor Geisel's Death". CBS Boston. February 28, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Alter, Alexandra (July 21, 2015). "Dr. Seuss Book: Yes, they found it in a box". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d Kantor, Emma (February 28, 2019). "Random House to publish new Dr. Seuss book". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved March 8, 2019.