‘I do not like my books in print

I do not like having to squint

I only read my books on Kindle

Anything else seems like a swindle’

…might be the weird Green Eggs and Ham-influenced manner in which a particularly bright yet techno-snobbish child would care to tell the world that it had not yet been exposed to the iconic works of Dr. Seuss due to their only being available in print and not digitally. Although in that case, if it hadn’t actually read the book, how would it be able to make a reference like that? Let’s not think too deeply about this. The point is, as of this month, Random House will be filling a void in that delightfully uppity child’s life, with the first batch of a planned 41 digital releases from the erstwhile Theodor Geisel’s bibliography.

The release of the ebooks will be staggered in three groups: the first 15 are available from 24 September, with two more groups planned for 22 October and 5 November. That initial 15 covers some expected high points – The Cat in the Hat, the aforementioned Green Eggs and Ham, The Lorax, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, Horton Hears a Who!, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Hop on Pop – but also finds space for perhaps lesser-known titles such as Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?, The Foot Book, and the truly spectacularly named The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. The releases maintain Seuss’ original illustrations and page layouts, so crucial to the books’ charms, and include new audio recordings to accompany the text.

Though Seuss’ work has already made a strong impression in the world of digital children’s publishing through Oceanhouse Media’s apps based around several of his books, the Random House editions will be the first time Seuss has seen publication in ebook form proper.