“The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day.” So opens Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat" — setting up its characters for the kind of indoor adventure a great read can provide on an otherwise dismal day.
The book was No. 2 on the New York Public Library's list of most-check-out books in its history with 469,650 checkouts since its publication in 1957. Author Theodor Seuss Geisel was awarded a Special Citation in 1984 "for his special contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America's children and their parents."
The list, compiled for the library's 125th anniversary this year, includes three other Pulitzer winners. Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," with 422,912 checkouts since its 1960 publication, came in at No. 5. The book was awarded the 1961 Fiction prize.
No. 6 was 1978 Special Citation winner E.B. White's children's classic "Charlotte's Web," with 337,948 checkouts since its publication in 1952. The Pulitzer Board recognized White "for his letters, essays and the full body of his work."
2007 Special Citation recipient Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" came in at No. 7 with 316,404 checkouts since its 1953 publication. The Pulitzer board recognized Bradbury "for his distinguished, prolific and deeply influential career as an unmatched author of science fiction and fantasy.
Rounding out the top 10 were Ezra Jack Keats' "The Snowy Day," George Orwell's "1984," Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are," Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People," J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpiller." Full details are available at 125.NYPL.org, here.
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