25 Best Dr Seuss Books: As Voted by Parents and Teachers
When I recently asked followers of the Childhood 101 Facebook page to tell me their #1 favorite of the huge collection of Dr Seuss books I was amazed at how many different titles were shared – some I have never read, many I haven’t read for a long, long time and some are well loved favorites in our own home. Everyone seems to have a different opinion when it comes to great Seuss! Even real life friends spoke to me about their own and their children’s choices of favorite Seuss books.
In honor of Dr Seuss impending birthday celebration on March 2nd, I collated the responses to compile this list of 25 best Seuss books – as voted by friends of Childhood 101.
And should you like to follow up your book reading with a related book activity (or two!), check out these fun Seuss sensory play ideas, Seuss art ideas and Seuss learning games!
As with all of my book collections, I encourage you to please take a moment to read reviews and age recommendations for any titles you are unfamiliar with. Each title is linked to an Amazon and Book Depository page (affiliate link) where you can find further information.
25 Best Dr Seuss Books
1. Green Eggs and Ham
It was no surprise that the persistent Sam-I-Am and his “Do you like green eggs and ham?” was voted our overall most popular Seuss! It’s a favourite in our house…we’ve even dined on green eggs and ham!
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
2. Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
Oh, The Places You’ll Go took an early lead and was only just pipped at the post! I am unsurprised by its popularity as this Seuss title shares a message important for all of us – that success in life is within us all.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
3. The Sneetches and Other Stories
Four deliciously silly, classic Seuss tales.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
4. The Lorax
“Unless someone like you…cares a whole awful lot…nothing is going to get better…It’s not.” This important message, of caring for the environment, is fabulous in both book and movie form.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
A holiday favourite in our house, How the Grinch Stole Christmas tells the story of the disgruntled Grinch and his fiendish attempts to steal Christmas from the citizens of Who-ville.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
6. The Foot Book
Left feet, right feet, slow feet, quick feet, even fuzzy fur feet make their way into Dr. Seuss’s wacky book of opposites.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
7. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
My personal favourite Seuss thanks to warm memories of reading it with my Pop as a child. The whimsical rhyme and parade of fascinating imaginary creatures are captivating to young children and show kids that reading can be just about good, old fashioned fun.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
8. Ten Apples Up on Top
Learning to count has never been more fun than in this crazy tale of a dog, a lion and a tiger all showing off how many apples they can balance on their heads as they skip, walk the tightrope and roller skate their way through the book.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
9. Wacky Wednesday
Another childhood favorite in our house, this time it’s Dad 101’s favorite Seuss and who wouldn’t love this wacky tale of a Wednesday with shoes on the wall, tortoises in trees, pigs without legs and teachers on roller skates! Can you find all of the wacky items so that Wednesday can get back to the way it should be??!
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
10. There’s a Wocket in my Pocket
This classically Seuss ridiculous rhyming fun will have young children search the house for the creative creatures hiding within.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
11. And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street
The very first Seuss book published for children, in And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street Marco allows his imagination to run riot as he travels home from school one day, to the extent that a horse and cart is soon transformed into a chaotic carnival of colourful creatures.
Available: Amazon
12. Fox in Socks
A tongue twisting tale that will see young readers’ words twisted and lips locked!
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
13. Dr Seuss’s ABC
From Aunt Annie’s alligator to the colourful Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz, Dr. Seuss’s delightful book introduces early learners to the letters of the alphabet through an amazing array of crazy creatures.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
14. Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
Cautionary tales of greed, vanity and pride are explored in these three modern fables.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
15. Horton Hatches the Egg
“I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful, one hundred per cent!” and in Horton’s case that means enduring ridicule and hardship whilst sitting on a bird’s egg for 51 weeks! Will it be worth the commitment?
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
16. The Butter Battle Book
Dr Seuss’ cautionary tale exploring the importance of respecting differences, teaching children about tolerance and respect.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
17. Bartholomew and the Oobleck
Bored with rain, sun, fog, and snow, King Derwin of Didd summons his royal magicians to create something new and exciting to fall from the sky. What he gets is a storm of sticky green globs called Oobleck, which soon causes a right royal mess!
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
18. I Wish That I Had Duck Feet
Would you care to have a duck’s feet, a deer’s antlers, a whale’s spout or an elephant’s trunk? Or are you better off just the way you are?
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
19. Dr Seuss’ Sleep Book
Van Vleck, a very small bug, is getting sleepy, and his yawn—contagious as yawns are—sets off a chain reaction, making all those around him feel sleepy, too.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
20. Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?
Children feeling blue will be cheered just contemplating the outrageous array of troubles they’re lucky they don’t have.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
21. Please Try to Remember the First of Octember!
If March is too dusty and April too gusty, if May is too early and June is too soon, just try to remember the first of Octember, when whatever you are hoping to get will be yours!
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
22. The Cat in the Hat
Poor Dick and Sally are stuck in the house with nothing to do . . . until the cat in a hat shows up and transforms the dull, rainy day into a madcap adventure.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
23. The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
This time Dick and Sally are stuck shovelling snow when the Cat in the Hat returns for more fabulous fun!
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
24. Hop On Pop
Another personal favourite from my own childhood, Hop on Pop is a book of simple rhyme that is perfect for reading with toddlers and a great tool to use with early readers.
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
25. I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Whether reading in bed or in purple or brown, reading is fun—even upside down!
Available: Amazon | The Book Depository
For even more Seussical fun, grab a copy of our Seuss Writing Prompts for independent writers.
It is difficult to come up with an absolute favorite, but I will choose “Wacky Wednesday” because it is fun to find all of the mix-ups!
I’ve always loved all of the Dr. Suess books but Green Eggs & Ham is my all time favorite!
My and my toddler’s favorite Seuss book is Green Eggs & Ham — it’s not too long, has a storyline instead of pages and pages of nonsensical rhymes, and it’s just fun, while teaching a lesson about trying new foods before refusing them!
By far my favorite is There’s A Wocket In My Pocket. I love the ridiculous characters, the rhyming and above all I love how the kids laugh when we read it!
Green Eggs and Ham – My Jewish mom made us green eggs, but alas, we could have no ham!
What a great collection! My favourite is Hop on Pop. I remember several years ago teaching a student struggling to read – and this was the first book that I could see her face light up with confidence as she read it to me 🙂
I always feel like rewarding myself after reading FOX IN SOCKS. If I get up a nice rhythm I’m a winner. Fun trying!!
There’s a Wocket in my Pocket because I read this book many, many times to my children. Now I am read it with my grandson.
It’s hard to choose, but I have to go with Green Eggs and Ham because it is so ridiculously funny and simple at the same time!
Cat in the hat because it teaches children we are all unique and that makes us special! It teaches them that its ok to be ‘different’
My favorite is Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? because it was one of the first Dr. Seuss book I would read to my children as babies. Good memories!!
We relish reading Green Eggs and Ham. We love to read it in a box, with a fox, never once looking at our clocks.
How the Grinch stole Christmas is a classic. I love to read it with my daughter during the holidays!
” I Can Read With My Eyes Shut ” because its powerful words & illustrations have improved my son’s interest in reading remarkably.
Mr Brown Can Moo, for making my daughter giggle. I was so proud when she started copying the sounds Mr Brown can make!
Love Horton Hatches The Egg. Always gave my brother and I a laugh and Dad would use the sentiment of “Say what you mean; don’t mean what you say” in everyday life. Dad was a fantastic reader and is probably where my love of reading came from.
I love Horton Hears a Who. There’s just something so philosophical about a tiny little world on a speck….
As a kindergarten teacher It’s got to be ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ I love how it opens up a discussion into trying new food!
My son is just getting into Dr Suess books and his favourite is The Cat in the Hat but chooses a new one at the library each time.
My kids are still pretty young so green eggs and ham is so perfect for us – not too long or complex, something we can discuss and relate to, and it lets us branch out in discussing other ‘discolored’ items (yellow snow…not edible!) as well as try and think up how we can make eggs green (color mixing) and of course trying new foods.
We have many favourites (my own, going back to childhood, is Thidwick).
Dr. Seuss was a gift. Our boys usually request The 500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins. We like it for its irreverence and for little B’s confidence in the face of (supposed) authority. They like it because the executioner speaks in a mousey voice. 😉
We love The 500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins for B’s irreverent confidence to ‘authority’ and because the executioner speaks in a mousey voice.
We love There’s a Wocket in my Pocket because the fun doesn’t end at the end – we then search our own habitation with much excitation!