Beginner Books

It was 1957 when scrappy underdog The Cat in the Hat danced into the early reader arena. Look-say champion Dick and Jane had held children's primers in its steely grip for more than three decades, but was beginning to take some hits as more and more critics stepped forward to question the country's flagging literacy rate.

At the suggestion of Random House, children's author Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel threw together a story made of two hundred and thirty six essential first grade vocabulary words, most of which were one syllable. His goal was to write a book that first graders "couldn't put down" unlike the tedious repetition of Dick and Jane. Giesel's cat threw his hat in the ring, and within three years the sight-reading giant had been toppled, freeing children everywhere from the tyranny of "see Spot go."

Yes, Beginner Books is the infamous series that knocked Dick and Jane out of the early reader spotlight. The rest of the Beginner Books follow this formula. They take easy-to-read words and string them together into a story that's fun and a little wacky. Children as young as three all the way to second grade can enjoy the early readers. With stories by Dr. Seuss, P.D. Eastman, the Berenstains, and even one by Walter Farley, these books have fun prose, fun illustrations, and are fun to read aloud, a fact for which we can thank Theodore Geisel and, yes, The Cat in the Hat.

Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time. You can read more of her reviews here.

 

Did you find this review helpful?
43 Items found Print
Active Filters: 1st grade (Ages 6-7)
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Rhyming Fantasy for 1st-4th grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
Are You My Mother?
by P. D. Eastman
from Random House
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Bennett Cerf's Book of Animal Riddles
by Bennett Cerf
First Edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
Best Nest
by P.D. Eastman
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Big Ball of String
by Marion Holland
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.50 (3 in stock)
Cat in the Hat
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for 1st-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99 $3.50 (2 in stock)
Cat in the Hat Comes Back
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Digging-est Dog
by Al Perkins
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd Grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Dr. Seuss's 123
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
Dr. Seuss's ABC
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Dr. Seuss's ABC
by Dr. Seuss
Book Club from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Fish Out of Water
by Helen Palmer
from Random House
Animal Fantasy/Rhyming Stories for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Fly Went By
by Mike McClintock
from Random House
Rhyming Books for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Fly Went By
by Mike McClintock, illustrated by Fritz Siebel
from Random House
Rhyming Books for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Foot Book
Bright & Early Books
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Foot Book
Bright & Early Books
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$3.00 (3 in stock)
Foot Book
Bright & Early Books
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
Go, Dog, Go!
by P. D. Eastman
from Random House
Animal Fantasy/Rhyming Stories for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Go, Dog, Go!
by P. D. Eastman
Kohls Cares For Kids from Random House
Animal Fantasy/Rhyming Stories for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Go, Train, Go!
by Elizabeth Terrill, Rev. W. Awdry
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Green Eggs and Ham
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
I Am NOT Going to Get Up Today!
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
I Can Read With My Eyes Shut
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Ian Fleming's Story of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! The Magical Car
by Ian Fleming
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
Bright & Early Books
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
New Tricks I Can Do!
by Robert Lopshire
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
Off to the Races
by Fred. Phleger, M. Phleger
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Oh Say Can You Say?
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Old Hat New Hat
Bright & Early Books
by Jan Berenstain, Stan Berenstain
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Put Me in the Zoo
by Robert Lopshire
from Random House
for 1st-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Put Me In the Zoo
by Robert Lopshire
Book Club Edition from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Snow
by Philip.D. Eastman, Roy Mc Kie
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Snug House, Bug House!
by Susan Schade and Jon Buller
from Random House
for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Some of Us Walk, Some Fly, Some Swim
I Can Read It All By Myself
by Michael Frith
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Stop that Ball!
by Mike McClintock, illustrated by Fritz Siebel
Reissue from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
Summer
by Alice Low
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Wacky Wednesday
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog?
by Theo. LeSieg
Book Club Edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-1st grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
You Will Go to the Moon
by Mae & Ira Freeman, illustrated by Robert Patterson
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
You Will Go to the Moon
by Mae and Ira Freeman, illustrated by Lee Ames
Revised from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.00 (1 in stock)