The 25 Most Popular Books by Dr. Seuss

In this sequel to “The Cat in the Hat,” the mischievous feline returns for more shenanigans. After Sally and Conrad’s mother leaves, she instructs them to clear away a pile of snow. But more trouble ensues when the Cat eats cake in the bathtub with the water running, leaving a pink stain all over. Further chaos erupts as a gaggle of smaller cats enter the house. Sally and Conrad attempt to clean up the mess, but all ends well.

Bartholomew returns, this time as a page boy to King Derwin. When the bored king orders his magicians to come up with a new substance to fall from the sky, he unleashes a storm of sticky green glop called Oobleck. But Bartholomew stands up to the king, and says he must apologize for the mess he caused. The king does so, and the skies are right once again.

Horton, a giant elephant, is asked by Mayzie, a bird, to sit on her egg for a short time until she returns. But Mayzie is lazy and never returns. Despite hardships, Horton doesn’t abandon the egg. Eventually, the egg hatches and a creature both bird and elephant emerges. The creature stays with Horton, while Mayzie leaves with nothing.

A tribute to a young boy’s imagination, “If I Ran the Zoo” tells the story of Gerald McGrew, who visits a zoo. Unimpressed by the animals he sees, he envisions more exotic creatures, like a lion with 10 feet and the Fizza-ma-Wizza-ma-Dill – “the world’s biggest bird from the island of Gwark, who eats only pine trees, and spits out the bark.” He says if he ran the zoo he would free all his imaginary animals. However, the book was one of six cited for racist images, including two characters from “the African island of Yerka” illustrated as shirtless, shoeless, and resembling monkeys. The estate of the author said it would no longer publish the book in 2021.

Yertle the Turtle is king of the pond. But he wants to sit higher than his stone allows him. He orders other turtles to pile up beneath him so he can see further. Eventually, the turtle at the bottom of the pile, Mack, has had enough and burps, which tumbles Yertle in the mud. The other stories are about a young girl-bird, Gertrude McFuzz, who wants a bigger feather, and a bear and a rabbit who brag about their hearing and smelling abilities.