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 (1957), whose title character appears in the brand's logo. 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. Random House acquired Beginner Books in 1960 and was the largest publisher of children's books in the United States.

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

Book Club

Bright and Early Books for Beginning Beginners

The following books are for younger children and are technically part of the series. The "BE" designation stands for Bright and Early.

Book Club

Bright and Early Board Books

Most, if not all, of these books are abridged versions of Beginner Books or Bright and Early Books. These books are not numbered.

Big Bright and Early Board Books

Bright and Early Bath Books