Gerald McBoing Boing »

It s difficult to imagine the children s book landscape without Dr. Seuss, who is, almost half a century after The Cat in the Hat, the best-recognized children s book writer in the country. But until Dr. Seuss -- a.k.a. Theodor Seuss Geisel -- reinvented the genre with his colorful and exuberant Sneetches, Grinches, Zaxes, and Zooks, children s books were often little more than literal-minded lessons and cautionary tales intended to transform young readers into productive citizens.

In 1950, Theodor Geisel—known to the world even then as Dr. Seuss—met up with a friend who worked for a new animation studio called United Productions of America. "UPA has a fresh outlook," the friend said. Could Seuss write something new and different for them? Something that had a little more going for it than the usual cats chasing mice? "Just suppose," Seuss came back, "there was a little kid who didn't speak words but only weird sounds?" And that's how Gerald McBoing Boing came into being. Brought to life by UPA as an animated cartoon, it attracted legions of fans, rave reviews, and went on to win an Academy Award® in 1951. Available in book form only briefly at the time of the movie's release, here it is again—unique, delectable, vintage Seuss.

Publishers Weekly

Fans of retro graphics will thrill to the vintage illustrations...the snazzy contrasting typefaces used for the sound effects make it easy for Gerald's admirer's to honk and clang energetically along.