And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street

The story follows a boy named Marco, who describes a parade of imaginary people and vehicles traveling along a road, Mulberry Street, in an elaborate fantasy story he dreams up to tell his father at the end of his walk. However, when he arrives home he decides instead to tell his father what he actually saw—a simple horse and wagon.

And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street, Seuss’ first published children’s book, and his career as a children's although, almost didn’t happen. After being rejected by 27 publishers Seuss decided to burn his manuscript in the incinerator of his apartment building, but as he walked home he ran into an old friend from Dartmouth, Mike McClintock, who had just started a job as an editor in the children’s section of Vanguard Press. The two signed a contract that day, Seuss later proclaiming “If I had been going down the other side of Madison Avenue, I’d be in the dry-cleaning business today.”

Theodor Seuss Geisel—aka Dr. Seuss—is, quite simply, one of the most beloved children’s book authors of all time. The forty-four books he wrote and illustrated under the name Dr. Seuss (and others that he wrote but did not illustrate, including some under the pseudonyms Theo. LeSieg and Rosetta Stone) have been translated into thirty languages. Hundreds of millions of copies have found their way into homes and hearts around the world. Dr. Seuss’s long list of awards includes Caldecott Honors for McElligot’s Pool, If I Ran the Zoo, and Bartholomew and the Oobleck; the Pulitzer Prize; and eight honorary doctorates. Works based on his original stories have won three Oscars, three Emmys, three Grammys, and a Peabody.