Beginner Books
Beginner Books is the Random House imprint for young children ages 3–9, co-founded by Phyllis Cerf with Ted Geisel, more often known as Dr. Seuss, and his wife Helen Palmer Geisel. Their first book was Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat. Cerf compiled a list of 379 words as the basic vocabulary for young readers, along with another 20 slightly harder "emergency" words. No more than 200 words were taken from that list to write The Cat in the Hat. Subsequent books in the series were modeled on the same requirement.
Beginner Books had only four titles in their catalog in 1958. Two years later, they were earning 1 million dollars a year and Random House was the largest publisher of children's books in America.
Early contributors
Authors
When Theodor Seuss Geisel illustrated his own stories, he wrote as Dr. Seuss. When others created the illustrations, he used either the pseudonym Theo LeSieg or Rosetta Stone. Other authors of early Beginner Books were Robert M. Lopshire, Bennett Cerf, Al Perkins, Helen Palmer Geisel who wrote as Helen Palmer, Philip Dey Eastman, Stan and Jan Berenstain, Benjamin Elkin and Marion Holland.Illustrators
Early Beginner Books employed many famous illustrators, including the aforementioned Theodor Seuss Geisel, P. D. Eastman, Stan and Jan Berenstain, and Robert Lopshire. Roy McKie was also an illustrator.List of Beginner Books
Special Beginner Books
- The Cat in the Hat Dictionary /The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary - Note: in 2007, this book was additionally written and illustrated by Peter Eastman.
- And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
- The Cat in the Hat Songbook - Note: this book was re-released in 1993 as a normal Dr. Seuss book.
- The Early Bird
- My Book about Me - Note: this book was re-released as a By ME, Myself book in the 21st century.
- I Can Draw It Myself - Note: this book was re-released in other editions and later added new pages in the 2017 edition as a By ME, Myself book in May 2017.
- Some of Us Walk, Some Fly, Some Swim
- The Cat's Quizzer - Note: this book became a special edition in 1993 as B-75
- The Best Mistake Ever! and Other Stories
- Beginning Readers' Yearbook 1994
- Samantha the Snob
- Put Me in the Alphabet!: A Beginner Workbook About ABC's
- I Want to Count Something New!: A Beginner Workbook About 123's - his final work before his death in 2002
- Pie Rats Ahoy!
- Dinosaur Days
- Pigs of a Feather
- Match This, P. J. Funnybunny!: A Beginner Workbook About Matching and Sorting
- What's Next, P. J. Funnybunny?: A Beginner Workbook About Sequencing
- Pretty Penny Comes Up Short
- Frosty the Snowman: Snow Day!
- Elephant Joe, Brave Firefighter!
- DreamWorks' Trolls: Too Many Cupcakes
- DC Super Friends: Catch That Crook
- What Pet Should I Get? - Note: this is a special edition without behind the pages and picking any pet in the Beginner Book special.
- Dr. Seuss's 123
- Can You See Me?
- A Skunk in My Bunk!
- Shut the Door! - in 2020, this book is solely illustrated by Maria Karipidou in the special edition in the Beginner Book special
- If I Had Your Vote
- The Pink Book
- A Ticket for Cricket
The Big Books of Beginner Books
- The Big Blue Book of Beginner Books Put Me in the Zoo/A Fly Went By/Are You My Mother?/Go, Dog. Go!/The Best Nest/It's Not Easy Being a Bunny
- The Big Red Book of Beginner Books I Want To Be Somebody New!/Sam and the Firefly/Stop That Ball!/Robert the Rose Horse/The Digging-est Dog/The Very Bad Bunny
- The Big Book of Berenstain Bears Beginner Books The Big Honey Hunt/The Bears' Picnic/The Bear Scouts/The Bear Detectives/The Missing Dinosaur Bone/The Bike Lesson
- The Big Green Book of Beginner Books Great Day for Up/Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog?/I Wish That I Had Duck Feet/Wacky Wednesday/Maybe You Should Fly a Jet!/I Am Not Going to Get Up Today!
- The Big Book of Berenstain Bears Beginner Books The Bike Lesson/The Bears' Picnic/The Bears' Vacation/Bears in the Night/The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree/The Berenstain Bears and the Missing Dinosaur Bone
- My Big Book of Beginner Books about Me The Foot Book/The Eye Book/The Ear Book/The Nose Book/The Tooth Book/The Knee Book
- The Big Purple Book of Beginner Books A Fish Out of Water/Snow/I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words/Flap Your Wings/Big Dog...Little Dog/Fred and Ted Go Camping
- The Big Book of Thomas the Tank Engine Beginner Books Stop Train Stop/A Crack in the Track/Go Train Go/Blue Train Green Train/Trains, Cranes and Troublesome Trucks/Fast Train Slow Train
- The Big Orange Book of Beginner Books Ten Apples Up On Top!/In a People House/Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!/The Shape of Me and Other Stuff/Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo!/Hooper Humperdink...? Not Him!
- The Big Aqua Book of Beginner Books The Cat in the Hat Comes Back/There's a Wocket in My Pocket!/New Tricks I Can Do/Hand Hand Fingers Thumb/Please Try to Remember the First of Octember!/Oh Say Can You Say?''
Book Club
- Grolier Book Club Beginner Book Series
- Scholastic Book Club Beginner Book Series
- Early Moments Book Club Beginner Book Series
Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners
ID | Title | Print status | Year released | Author | Illustrator | Grade level equivalent | Lexile measure |
BE-1 | The Foot Book | 1968 | Dr. Seuss | 1.1 | |||
BE-2 | The Eye Book | 1968 | Dr. Seuss | Roy McKie | 1.3 | 140L | |
BE-3 | The Ear Book | 1968 | Al Perkins | William O'Brian | 2.4 | ||
BE-4 | The Berenstain Bears: Inside Outside Upside Down/Inside, Outside, Upside Down | 1968 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | 1.6 | ||
BE-5 | Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb | 1969 | Al Perkins | Eric Gurney | 1.5 | ||
BE-6 | The Berenstain Bears: Bears on Wheels/Bears on Wheels: A Bright and Early Counting Book | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1969 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | 1.2 | |
BE-7 | Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises | 1970 | Dr. Seuss | 2.9 | |||
BE-8 | The Nose Book | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1970 | Al Perkins | Roy McKie | 1.5 | 290L |
BE-9 | The Berenstain Bears: Old Hat New Hat/Old Hat, New Hat | 1970 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | 1.7 | ||
BE-10 | The Berenstain Bears: Bears in the Night/Bears in the Night | 1971 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | 1.1 | ||
BE-11 | Berenstains' B Book/The Berenstains' B Book | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1971 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | ||
BE-12 | In a People House | 1972 | Dr. Seuss | Roy McKie | 2.5 | ||
BE-13 | Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! | 1972 | Dr. Seuss | Dr. Seuss | 2.4 | 100L | |
BE-14 | Berenstains' C Book: Previously Published as C is for Clown/C Is for Clown | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1972 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | ||
BE-15 | The Pop-Up Mice of Mr. Brice/The Many Mice of Mr. Brice | out of print | 1973 | Dr. Seuss | Roy McKie | ||
BE-16 | The Shape of Me and Other Stuff | 1973 | Dr. Seuss | Dr. Seuss | 2.4 | 350L | |
BE-17 | I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words | 1973 | Michael Frith | P. D. Eastman | |||
BE-18 | There's a Wocket in My Pocket! | 1974 | Dr. Seuss | Dr. Seuss | 2.1 | 320L | |
BE-19 | Great Day for Up | 1974 | Dr. Seuss | Quentin Blake | 1.9 | ||
BE-20 | The Berenstain Bears: He Bear, She Bear/He Bear, She Bear | 1974 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | 2.5 | 460L | |
BE-21 | Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog? | 1975 | Dr. Seuss | Roy McKie | |||
BE-22 | Hooper Humperdink...? Not Him! | 1976 | Dr. Seuss | Charles E. Martin | |||
BE-23 | The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree | 1978 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | 1.7 | 100L | |
BE-24 | The Hair Book | 1979 | Graham Tether | Roy McKie | |||
BE-25 | The Tooth Book | 1981 | Dr. Seuss | Roy McKie | 2.6 | 400L | |
BE-26 | Wings on Things | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1982 | Marc Brown | Marc Brown | 2.1 | 180L |
BE-27 | The Berenstain Bears on the Moon | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1985 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | 1.7 | 40L |
BE-28 | Snug House, Bug House! | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1994 | Susan Schade and Jon Buller | 1.5 | ||
BE-29 | Snow Bugs | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1996 | Susan Schade and Jon Buller | |||
BE-30 | Berenstains' A Book | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1997 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | ||
BE-31 | It's Not Easy Being Big! | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1998 | Stephanie St. Pierre | John Lund | ||
BE-32 | Mama Loves: Includes a Punch-Out "I Love You" Card/Mama Loves | Scholastic Book Club only | 1999 | Molly Goode | Molly Goode | ||
BE-33 | Bear in the Big Blue House: Where is Bear? | out of print | 1999 | Tish Rabe | Tish Rabe | ||
BE-34 | Richard Scarry's Chuckle with Huckle! and Other Easy-to-Read Funny Stories | Early Moments only | 2005 | Richard Scarry | |||
BE-35 | The Knee Book | Early Moments only | 2005 | Graham Tether | Graham Tether | ||
BE-36 | Money Money Honey Bunny | 2006 | Marilyn Sadler | Roger Bollen | |||
BE-37 | Thomas and Friends: Blue Train, Green Train | 2006 | Rev. W. Awdry | ||||
BE-38 | Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs - X Marks the Spot | out of print | 2007 | R. Schuyler Hooke | Art Mawhinney | ||
BE-39 | Thomas and Friends: Fast Train, Slow Train | out of print | 2014 | Rev W. Awdry | Rev W. Awdry | ||
BE-40 | Ten Eggs in a Nest | Early Moments and eBook only | 2014 | Marilyn Sadler | Michael Fleming | ||
BE-41 | The Alphabet Book | 2015 | P. D. Eastman Peter Eastman | P. D. Eastman Peter Eastman |
Special Bright and Early Books
- I Can Write!
- Sleepy Dog
- Cat Traps
- Dr. Seuss's Book of Animals
- Dr. Seuss's Book of Colors
The Big Book of Bright and Early Book Stories
- The Big Book of Berenstain Bears Stories Inside, Outside, Upside Down/Bears on Wheels/The Berenstain Bears on the Moon/Old Hat, New Hat/He Bear, She Bear/The Bear Scouts/The Bear Detectives: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin
Book Club
- Grolier Bright and Early Book series
- Scholastic Bright and Early Book series
- Early Moments Bright and Early Book series
Bright and Early Board Books
- The Alphabet Book by P. D. Eastman, additional materials by Peter Eastman
- I'll Teach My Dog a Lot of Words written by Michael Frith, illustrated by P. D. Eastman
- Big Dog...Little Dog by P. D. Eastman
- Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman
- Eres mi Mama? by P. D. Eastman
- Go, Dog. Go! P.D. Eastman's Book of Things That Go illustrated by P. D. Eastman
- Ve, Perro. Ve! by P. D. Eastman
- Fred and Ted Like to Fly by Peter Eastman
- The Snowman illustrated by Raymond Briggs - Note: the only Bright and Early Board Book without any words
- What Time Is It? by P. D. Eastman
- Old Hat, New Hat by the Berenstains
- Sombrero Viejo, Sombrero Nuevo by the Berenstains
- Inside, Outside, Upside Down by the Berenstains
- He Bear, She Bear by the Berenstains
- Summer by Alice Low, illustrated by Roy McKie
- Put Me In The Zoo: A Book of Colors by Robert Lopshire
- Stop, Train, Stop! by Rev. W. Awdry
- Para, Trencito, Para! by Rev. W. Awdry
- Blue Train, Green Train by Rev. W. Awdry
- 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, illustrated by Roy McKie - Note: this book is a 1998 recolor edition.
- 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
- Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog? by Dr. Seuss, illustrated by Roy McKie
- The Many Mice of Mr. Brice by Dr. Seuss, illustreated by Roy McKie
- The Ear Book by Al Perkins, illustrated by Henry Payne
- Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins, illustrated by Eric Gurney
- The Nose Book by Al Perkins, illustrated by Joe Mathieu
- The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss, illustrated by Joe Mathieu
- The Eye Book by Dr. Seuss, illustrated by Joe Mathieu
- The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites by Dr. Seuss
Big Bright and Early Board Books
- Fast Train, Slow Train by Rev W. Awdry
- Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog? by Dr. Seuss, illustrated by Roy McKie
- Dr. Seuss's ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! by Dr. Seuss
- 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
- Trains, Cranes and Troublesome Trucks by Rev W. Awdry
- The Many Mice of Mr. Brice by Dr. Seuss, illustrated by Roy McKie
- Fox in Socks: Dr. Seuss's Book of Tongue Twisters 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 Big Box of Bright and Early Board Books About Me
- The Eye Book by Dr. Seuss, illustrated by Joe Mathieu
- The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites by Dr. Seuss
- Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb by Al Perkins, illustrated by Eric Gurney
- The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss, illustrated by Joe Mathieu
- The Nose Book by Al Perkins, illustrated by Joe Mathieu
- There's a Wocket in My Pocket!: Dr. Seuss's Book of Ridiculous Rhymes'' by Dr. Seuss