Beginner Books facts for kids

Beginner Books is a special part of Random House, a big publishing company. It was created for young kids aged 3 to 9. This series was started in 1957 by Phyllis Cerf, along with Ted Geisel, who you probably know as Dr. Seuss, and his wife Helen Palmer Geisel.

The very first book in this series was Dr. Seuss's famous The Cat in the Hat, released in 1957. The fun character from that book is even part of the Beginner Books logo! Phyllis Cerf made a list of 379 simple words for young readers to learn. She also added 20 slightly harder "emergency" words. The Cat in the Hat used no more than 200 words from this list. All the books that came after followed this same rule, making them easy to read.

In 1958, Beginner Books only had four titles. But just two years later, they were making a million dollars a year! Random House bought Beginner Books in 1960. This made Random House the biggest publisher of children's books in the United States.

Who Created These Books?

Amazing Authors

Many talented people wrote for Beginner Books. When Theodor Seuss Geisel drew his own pictures, he used his famous name, Dr. Seuss. But when other artists drew the pictures for his stories, he sometimes used different names like Theo LeSieg or Rosetta Stone.

Other authors who wrote early Beginner Books include Robert M. Lopshire, Bennett Cerf, Al Perkins, and Helen Palmer Geisel (who wrote as Helen Palmer). Also, Philip Dey Eastman, Stan and Jan Berenstain, Benjamin Elkin, and Marion Holland wrote for the series.

Talented Illustrators

Lots of famous artists drew pictures for the early Beginner Books. These included Theodor Seuss Geisel, P. D. Eastman, Stan and Jan Berenstain, and Robert Lopshire. Another great artist who worked on these books was Roy McKie.

Popular Beginner Books

Beginner Books has published many beloved stories over the years. Here are a few examples of the popular books in this series:

Book Clubs

Many Beginner Books were also offered through special book clubs, making them easy for families to get. These included:

• Grolier Book Club Beginner Book Series
• Scholastic Book Club Beginner Book Series
• Early Moments Book Club Beginner Book Series

Books for Very Young Readers

Some books are made for even younger children, often called "Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners." These books are part of the same series but are designed to be even simpler. They often have a "BE" in their ID number.

Here are a few examples from this collection:

Book Clubs

These "Bright and Early" books were also popular in various book clubs:

• Grolier Bright and Early Book series
• Scholastic Bright and Early Book series
• Early Moments Bright and Early Book series

Sturdy Board Books

Many popular Beginner Books and Bright and Early Books have also been made into "Board Books." These books have thick, sturdy pages, which are perfect for very young children who are just learning to handle books. Most of these are shorter versions of the original stories.

Here are some examples of these board books:

• The Alphabet Book by P. D. Eastman
• Big Dog...Little Dog by P. D. Eastman
• Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman
• Go, Dog. Go! P.D. Eastman's Book of Things That Go by P. D. Eastman
• The Berenstain Bears: Old Hat, New Hat by the Berenstains
• Dr. Seuss's ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! by Dr. Seuss
• Fox In Socks: Dr. Seuss's Book of Tongue Twisters by Dr. Seuss
• Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
• Ten Apples Up On Top! by Dr. Seuss
• There's a Wocket in My Pocket! Dr. Seuss's Book of Ridiculous Rhymes by Dr. Seuss
• Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! by Dr. Seuss
• Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises by Dr. Seuss
• The Shape of Me and Other Stuff: Dr. Seuss's Surprising Word Book by Dr. Seuss
• The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites by Dr. Seuss

Even Bigger Board Books

There are also "Big Bright and Early Board Books," which are larger versions of the sturdy board books. They often combine several stories or are bigger versions of popular titles.

Some of these include:

• Fast Train, Slow Train by Rev W. Awdry
• Dr. Seuss's ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! by Dr. Seuss
• The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstain
• Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! by Dr. Seuss
• Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?: Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises by Dr. Seuss
• Are You My Mother? written and illustrated by P. D. Eastman
• Hop on Pop: The Simplest Seuss for Toddlers Use by Dr. Seuss
• Go, Dog. Go!: P. D. Eastman's Book of Things That Go by P. D. Eastman
• The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites by Dr. Seuss
• There's a Wocket in My Pocket!: Dr. Seuss's Book of Ridiculous Rhymes by Dr. Seuss

Bath Time Books

There's even a special "Bright and Early Bath Book" for fun during bath time!

• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss

See also

• Ladybird Books