x
Breaking News
More () »

Dr. Seuss books go digital

Yes, you’ll have to make sure your “Green Eggs and Ham” does not become spam.
seuss cat in the hat

(CNN) — Books? Who needs books? Not Dr. Seuss.

Oh, my! Could it be a ruse? No, my dear, don’t be obtuse. Don’t be abstruse. The news this day is no ruse. The news this day may not amuse. But the news this day is full of juice: Words by Seuss have found a brand new use.

Should my language abuse cause you to confuse, I hope that me you will excuse.

Cuz here’s the buried lede in plain language: Dr. Seuss books are going digital. Yes, you’ll have to make sure your “Green Eggs and Ham” does not become spam.

That title is one of the 41 children’s books by Theodor Seuss Geisel to be released in three waves this year — beginning September 24, according to Random House Children’s Books, which also publishes the print editions.

According to a news release, more than 600 million of Geisel’s books have been sold worldwide. This month’s releases will include “The Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs and Ham,” “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” ‘Horton Hears a Who!” “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish,” “Dr. Seuss’s ABC,” “Fox in Socks,” “Hop on Pop,” “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?” “Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!” “The Cat in the Hat Comes Back,” “The Foot Book,” “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket!” “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” and “The Lorax.”

The print editions’ original layouts and illustrations will remain intact in the digital versions of the books, which will be published at the same time that audio recordings are released.

A second wave of titles will be released in e-book form on October 22, and a third on November 5. Prices will range from $7.99 to $10.99.

Geisel, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, an Academy Award, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Caldecott Honors, wrote and illustrated 44 books for children.

The e-books are the latest in a series of Seuss-related products that have appeared since Geisel died in 1991, including toys, clothing, animated stories, a Broadway musical and a Florida theme-park attraction.

“Nothing is static,” his widow, Audrey S. Geisel, told the History Channel in a documentary. “There’s only two directions it can go: onward and upward, or it can go downward and oblivion. And if it takes selling cookies or figures or T-shirts or this or that or the other thing, so be it.”

Before You Leave, Check This Out