| Parent: | Random House |
| Founded: | 1957 |
| Founder: | Phyllis Fraser Dr. Seuss Helen Palmer |
| Country: | United States |
| Headquarters: | New York City |
| Publications: | Books |
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.[1] 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.[2]
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[3] and was the largest publisher of children's books in the United States.
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.
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.
| ID | Title | Year released | |
|---|---|---|---|
| B- 1 | The Cat in the Hat | 1957 | |
| B- 2 | The Cat in the Hat Comes Back | 1958 | |
| B- 3 | A Fly Went By | 1958 | |
| B- 4 | The Big Jump and Other Stories | 1958 | |
| B- 5 | A Big Ball of String | 1958 (later 35th anniversary edition released in 1993) | |
| B- 6 | Sam and the Firefly | 1958 | |
| B- 7 | Going to the Moon (U.K.)/You Will Go to the Moon | 1959 (later revised edition in 1971) | |
| B- 8 | Cowboy Andy | 1959 | |
| B- 9 | The Whales Go By | 1959 | |
| B-10 | Stop that Ball! | 1959 | |
| B-11 | Bennett Cerf's Book of Laughs | 1959 | |
| B-12 | Ann Can Fly | 1959 | |
| B-13 | One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish | 1960 | |
| B-14 | The King's Wish and Other Stories | 1960 | |
| B-15 | Bennett Cerf's Book of Riddles | 1960/1999 (part of Riddles and More Riddles) | |
| B-16 | Green Eggs and Ham | 1960 | |
| B-17 | Put Me in the Zoo | 1960 | |
| B-18 | Are You My Mother? | 1960 | |
| B-19 | Ten Apples Up On Top! | 1961 (later 1998) | |
| B-20 | Go, Dog. Go! | 1961 | |
| B-21 | Little Black, a Pony | 1961 | |
| B-22 | Look Out for Pirates! | 1961 | |
| B-23 | A Fish Out of Water | 1961 | |
| B-24 | More Riddles | 1961/1999 (part of Riddles and More Riddles) | |
| B-25 | Robert the Rose Horse | 1962 | |
| B-26 | I Was Kissed by a Seal at the Zoo | 1962 | |
| B-27 | Snow | 1962 | |
| B-28 | The Berenstain Bears: The Big Honey Hunt (reissue)/The Big Honey Hunt | 1962 | |
| B-29 | Hop on Pop: The Simplest Seuss for Youngest Use | 1963 | |
| B-30 | Dr. Seuss's ABC (translations) | 1963 | |
| B-31 | Do You Know What I'm Going to Do Next Saturday? | 1963 | |
| B-32 | Summer | 1963 (later recolored and censored in 2001) | |
| B-33 | Little Black Goes to the Circus | 1963 | |
| B-34 | Bennett Cerf's Book of Animal Riddles | 1964 | |
| B-35 | Why I Built the Boogle House | 1964 | |
| B-36 | The Bike Lesson (U.K.)/The Berenstain Bears: The Bike Lesson (reissue)/The Bike Lesson: Another Adventure of the Berenstain Bears | 1964 | |
| B-37 | The Beginner Book of Things To Make: previously published as How to Make Flibbers, etc. (reissue)/How to Make Flibbers, etc.: A Book of Things to Make and Do | 1964 | |
| The Cat in the Hat Dictionary (U.K.)/The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary | 1964 | ||
| B-38 | Fox in Socks (reissue)/Fox in Socks: A Tongue Twister for Super Children | 1965 | |
| B-39 | The King, the Mice and the Cheese | 1965 | |
| B-40 | I Wish That I Had Duck Feet | 1965 | |
| B-41 | The Berenstain Bears: The Bears' Picnic (reissue)/The Bears' Picnic | 1966 | |
| B-42 | Don and Donna Go to Bat | 1966 | |
| B-43 | You Will Live Under the Sea | 1966 | |
| B-44 | Come over to My House | 1966 (later 50th anniversary edition released in 2016) | |
| B-45 | Babar Loses His Crown | 1967 (later released in 2004) | |
| B-46 | The Berenstain Bears: The Bear Scouts (reissue)/The Bear Scouts | 1967 | |
| B-47 | The Digging-est Dog | 1967 | |
| B-48 | Hugh Loftings' Travels of Dr. Dolittle | 1967 | |
| The Cat in the Hat Songbook | 1967 | ||
| B-49 | Hugh Loftings' Doctor Dolittle and the Pirates | 1968 | |
| B-50 | Off to the Races | 1968 | |
| B-51 | The Best Nest | 1968 | |
| B-52 | The Berenstain Bears: The Bears' Vacation (reissue)/The Bears' Holiday (U.K.)/The Bears' Vacation | 1968 | |
| B-53 | Ian Flemings' Story of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! the Magical Car | 1968 | |
| B-54 | King Midas and the Golden Touch | 1969 (later special edition in 1973 by Scholastic) | |
| My Book about Me | 1969 | ||
| I Can Draw It Myself | 1970 | ||
| B-55 | The Berenstain Bears: The Bears' Christmas (reissue)/The Bears' Christmas | 1970 | |
| Some of Us Walk, Some Fly, Some Swim | 1971 | ||
| B-56 | Tubby and the Lantern | 1971 | |
| B-57 | Tubby and the Poo-Bah | 1972 | |
| The Berenstain Bears in: The Bears' Almanac | 1973 | ||
| B-58 | Autographs! I Collect Them (reissue)/My Amazing Book of Autographs | 1974 | |
| B-59 | Wacky Wednesday | 1974 | |
| B-60 | The Berenstain Bears: The Bear Detectives: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin (reissue)/The Bear Detectives: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin | 1975 | |
| B-61 | Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! | 1975 | |
| B-62 | Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! | 1975 | |
| B-63 | Please Try to Remember the First of Octember! | 1977 | |
| B-64 | I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! | 1978 | |
| B-65 | Oh Say Can You Say? | 1979 | |
| B-66 | The Berenstain Bears and the Missing Dinosaur Bone | 1980 | |
| B-67 | Maybe You Should Fly a Jet! Maybe You Should Be a Vet! | 1980 (later 40th anniversary edition released in 2020) | |
| B-68 | It's Not Easy Being a Bunny | 1983 | |
| B-69 | Spooky Riddles | 1983 | |
| B-70 | What Do Smurfs Do All Day? | 1983 | |
| B-71 | The Very Bad Bunny | 1984 | |
| B-72 | I Want to Be Somebody New!: The Sequel to Put Me in the Zoo (reissue)/I Want To Be Somebody New | 1986 | |
| B-73 | The Black Stallion | 1986 | |
| B-74 | I Am Not Going to Get Up Today! | 1987 | |
| B-75 | The Cat's Quizzer | 1976 (original)/1993 (reissue) | |
| Beginning Readers' Yearbook 1994 | 1994 | ||
| The Big Blue Book of Beginner Books | 1994 | ||
| " | B-76 | Stop, Train, Stop! A Thomas the Tank Engine Story | 1995 |
| The Big Red Book of Beginner Books | 1995 | ||
| B-77 | New Tricks I Can Do! | 1996 | |
| B-78 | Anthony the Perfect Monster | 1996 | |
| The Big Book of Berenstain Bears Beginner Books | 1996 | ||
| B-79 | 4 Pups and a Worm | 1996 | |
| B-80 | Honey Bunny Funnybunny | 1997 | |
| B-81 | Come Down Now, Flying Cow! | 1997 | |
| B-82 | Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street? | 1997 | |
| The Big Green Book of Beginner Books | 1997/2022 | ||
| Put Me in the Alphabet!: A Beginner Workbook About ABC's | 1997 | ||
| I Want to Count Something New: A Beginner Workbook About 123's | 1997 | ||
| Pigs of a Feather | 1998 | ||
| Match This, P. J. Funnybunny!: A Beginner Workbook About Matching and Sorting | 1998 | ||
| What's Next, P. J. Funnybunny?: A Beginner Workbook About Sequencing | 1998 | ||
| B-83 | Mercer Mayer's Critters of the Night: Roast & Toast | 1998 | |
| B-84 | Monster Munchies | 1998 | |
| B-85 | Babe the Sheep Pig: A Little Pig Goes a Long Way | 1999 | |
| B-86 | The Land Before Time | 1999 | |
| B-87 | Riddles and More Riddles!: Previously Published as Bennett Cerf's Book of Riddles and More Riddles | 1960/1961/1999 | |
| B-88 | Flap Your Wings | 1969/2000 (reissue) | |
| B-89 | The Berenstain Bears: That Stump Must Go! | 2000 | |
| B-90 | Paws and Claws | 2001 | |
| B-91 | Thomas and Friends: A Crack In the Track | 2001 | |
| B-92 | Big Dog...Little Dog | 1973/2003 (30th anniversary edition) | |
| B-93 | Thomas and Friends: Go, Train, Go! A Companion Book to Stop, Train, Stop | 2005 | |
| B-94 | Fred and Ted Go Camping | 2005 | |
| B-95 | Mrs. Wow Never Wanted a Cow | 2006 | |
| B-96 | Fred and Ted Like to Fly | 2007 | |
| B-97 | The Belly Book | 2008 | |
| B-98 | Thomas and Friends: Trains, Cranes & Troublesome Trucks | 2008 | |
| B-99 | Have You Seen My Dinosaur? | 2010 | |
| Fred and Ted's Road Trip | 2011 | ||
| The Big Book of Berenstain Bears Beginner Books | 2011 | ||
| My Big Book of Beginner Books about Me | 2011 | ||
| The Big Purple Book of Beginner Books | 2012 | ||
| B-101 | A Pet Named Sneaker | 2013 | |
| Thomas' Big Book of Beginner Books | 2013 | ||
| Squirrels on Skis | 2013 | ||
| The Big Orange Book of Beginner Books | 2015 | ||
| The Big Aqua Book of Beginner Books | 2017 | ||
| B-103 | DC Super Friends Catch That Crook | 2018 | |
| B-104 | Dreamworks' Trolls: Too Many Cupcakes | 2018 | |
| B-105 | What Pet Should I Get? | 2015/2019 | |
| B-106 | Dr. Seuss's 123 | 2019 | |
| B-107 | A Skunk in My Bunk! | 2019 | |
| B-108 | Can You See Me? | 2019 | |
| B-109 | Shut the Door! | 1993/2020 | |
| B-110 | If I Had Your Vote | 2020 | |
| B-111 | The Pink Book | 2020 | |
| B-112 | A Ticket for Cricket | 2021 | |
| B-113 | If I Ran Your School | 2021 | |
| B-114 | I Can Be Anything! | 2021 | |
| B-115 | It's Better Being a Bunny | 2022 | |
| B-116 | Busy Streets | 2022 | |
| B-117 | If I Were Saint Nick: A Christmas Story | 2022 | |
| B-118 | How to Love a Pony | 2023 | |
| The Big Violet Book of Beginner Books | 2023 | ||
| B-119 | Bunny with a Big Heart | 2023 | |
| B-120 | Dr. Seuss's If You Think There's Nothing to Do | 2024 | |
| B-121 | ’’If I Drove An Ice Cream Truck’’ | 2024 | |
| B-122 | ’’How to Love a Kitten’’ | 2024 | |
| ’’Hello, Sun’’ | 2025 | ||
The following books are for younger children and are technically part of the series. The "BE" designation stands for Bright and Early.
| ID | Title | Print status | Year released | Author | Illustrator | Grade level equivalent (Scholastic)[4] | Lexile measure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BE-1 | The Foot Book | 1968 | Dr. Seuss | 1.1 | |||
| BE-2 | The Eye Book | 1968/1999 | Dr. Seuss (writing as Theo LeSieg) | Roy McKie (later Joe Mathieu) | 1.3 | 140L | |
| BE-3 | The Ear Book | 1968/2007 | Al Perkins | William O'Brian (later Henry Payne) | 2.4 | ||
| BE-4 | The Berenstain Bears: Inside Outside Upside Down/Inside, Outside, Upside Down | 1968 | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the original issue cover) | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the original issue cover) | 1.6 | ||
| BE-5 | Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb | 1969 | Al Perkins | Eric Gurney | 1.5 | ||
| BE-6 | The Berenstain Bears: Bears on Wheels/Bears on Wheels: A Bright and Early Counting Book | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1969 | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the former prints) | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the former prints) | 1.2 | |
| BE-7 | Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises | 1970 | Dr. Seuss | 2.9 | |||
| BE-8 | The Nose Book | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1970/2002 | Al Perkins | Roy McKie (later Joe Mathieu) | 1.5 | 290L |
| BE-9 | The Berenstain Bears: Old Hat New Hat/Old Hat, New Hat | 1970 | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the original issue cover) | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the original issue cover) | 1.7 | ||
| The Berenstain Bears: Bears in the Night/Bears in the Night | 1971 | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the original issue cover) | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the original issue cover) | 1.1 | |||
| BE-11 | Berenstains' B Book/The Berenstains' B Book | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1971 | Stan and Jan Berenstain (both credited on the reissue) | Stan and Jan Berenstain (both credited on the reissue) | ||
| I Can Write | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1971 | Dr. Seuss (aka Theo. LeSieg) | Roy McKie | |||
| BE-12 | In a People House | 1972 | Dr. Seuss (writing as Theo. LeSieg) | Roy McKie ("illustrated by" in the book, "pictures by" in the video") | 2.5 | ||
| BE-13 | Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! | 1972 | Dr. Seuss | Dr. Seuss | 2.4 | 100L | |
| BE-14 | Berenstains' C Book: Previously Published as C is for Clown/C Is for Clown | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1972 | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the original issue) | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the original issue) | ||
| BE-15 | The Pop-Up Mice of Mr. Brice/The Many Mice of Mr. Brice | out of print | 1973 | Dr. Seuss (writing as Theo. LeSieg) | Roy McKie | ||
| BE-16 | The Shape of Me and Other Stuff | 1973 | Dr. Seuss | Dr. Seuss | 2.4 | 350L | |
| BE-17 | I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words | 1973 | Michael Frith | P. D. Eastman | |||
| BE-18 | There's a Wocket in My Pocket! | 1974 | Dr. Seuss | Dr. Seuss | 2.1 | 320L | |
| BE-19 | Great Day for Up | 1974 | Dr. Seuss (by) | Quentin Blake (pictures by) | 1.9 | ||
| The Berenstain Bears: He Bear, She Bear/He Bear, She Bear | 1974 | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the original issue cover) | Stan and Jan Berenstain ("by" credit on the original issue cover) | 2.5 | 460L | ||
| BE-21 | Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog? | 1975 | Dr. Seuss | Roy McKie | |||
| BE-22 | Hooper Humperdink...? Not Him! | 1976/2006 | Dr. Seuss | Charles E. Martin (later 30th anniversary edition released in 2006 illustrated by Scott Nash) | |||
| BE-23 | The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree | 1978 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | 1.7 | 100L | |
| BE-24 | The Hair Book | 1979/2019 | Graham Tether | Roy McKie (later 40th anniversary edition released in 2019 and illustrated by Andrew Joyner) | |||
| BE-25 | The Tooth Book | 1981/2000 | Dr. Seuss (as Theo LeSieg) | Roy McKie (later Joe Mathieu) | 2.6 | 400L | |
| BE-26 | Wings on Things | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1982 | Marc Brown | Marc Brown | 2.1 | 180L |
| BE-27 | The Berenstain Bears on the Moon | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1985 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | 1.7 | 40L |
| BE-28 | Snug House, Bug House! | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1994 | Susan Schade and Jon Buller | 1.5 | ||
| BE-29 | Snow Bugs | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1996 | Susan Schade and Jon Buller | |||
| BE-30 | Berenstains' A Book | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1997 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | ||
| BE-31 | It's Not Easy Being Big! | Grolier and Early Moments only | 1998 | Stephanie St. Pierre | John Lund | ||
| BE-32 | Mama Loves | Scholastic Book Club only | 1999 | Molly Goode | Molly Goode | ||
| BE-33 | Bear in the Big Blue House: Where is Bear? | out of print | 1999 | Tish Rabe | Tish Rabe | ||
| BE-34 | Richard Scarry's Chuckle with Huckle! and Other Easy-to-Read Funny Stories | Early Moments only | 2005 | Jane E. Gerver | Richard Scarry II | ||
| BE-35 | The Knee Book | Early Moments only | 2005 | Graham Tether | Graham Tether | ||
| BE-36 | Money Money Honey Bunny | 2006 | Marilyn Sadler | Roger Bollen | |||
| BE-37 | Thomas and Friends: Blue Train, Green Train | 2006 | Rev. W. Awdry | ||||
| BE-38 | Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs – X Marks the Spot | out of print | 2007 | R. Schuyler Hooke | Art Mawhinney | ||
| BE-39 | Thomas and Friends: Fast Train, Slow Train | out of print | 2009 | Rev W. Awdry | Rev W. Awdry | ||
| BE-40 | Ten Eggs in a Nest | Early Moments and eBook only | 2014 | Marilyn Sadler | Michael Fleming | ||
| BE-41 | The Alphabet Book | 2015 | P. D. Eastman Peter Eastman | P. D. Eastman Peter Eastman | |||
| The Big Book of Berenstain Bears Stories | 2016 | Stan and Jan Berenstain | Stan and Jan Berenstain | ||||
| BE-42 | Dr. Seuss's Book of Animals | 2018 | Dr. Seuss | ||||
| BE-43 | Dr. Seuss's Book of Colors | 2018 | Dr. Seuss | ||||
Most, if not all, of these books are abridged versions of Beginner Books or Bright and Early Books. These books are not numbered.