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Reporter Clare Mulroy shares bookish news and recommendations.

Thu Jul 16 2026

Clare Mulroy | Books Reporter

Happy Thursday, booklovers!

Last month, I journeyed to the Dr. Seuss archives at UC San Diego. Just six miles from the house where Theodor Geisel illustrated his famous characters, the archives contain old sketches, drafts and unpublished works.

“Sing the 50 United States!” is one such work. Finding this completed manuscript and a few accompanying sketches a year before America’s 250th anniversary was “a coincidence of cosmic proportions,” Cat Reynolds, executive editor for Dr. Seuss Publishing and Beginner Books, told me.

Manuscript pages and sketches from "Sing the 50 United States!" found in Dr. Seuss' archival works, shared exclusively with USA TODAY.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises

Amid some 20,000 files, you can see Geisel’s creative process come to life. I flipped thinning pages with pencil markings and ran my finger over rusted paperclip marks. On the wall, a framed draft of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” shows how Geisel edited it by taping pieces of scrap paper, collage-style.

Geisel died nearly 35 years ago, but publishers and his enterprises are still finding new ways to bring his legacy into the current age. This means new ventures and books for beloved characters like the Cat in the Hat and the Grinch. It also means reckoning with racist and insensitive cartoons he drew throughout his career. The author changed children’s literature for good, but he leaves behind a complicated legacy.

Curious? I've got two reads for you today: A behind-the-scenes look at how publishers unearthed this new Dr. Seuss book and one about Geisel’s impact on American childhoods, and how some argue he was “both anti-racist and racist.”

Where do you stand with Dr. Seuss? Let me know at cmulroy@usatoday.com or reach out on Instagram. Thanks for checking out USA TODAY Books this week!