Dr Seuss’ 1st book was rejected 20 times + 9 Other Facts About The Author

1. His first book was rejected nearly 30 times

Geisel’s first book was dismissed by twenty-seven publishers before it was finally accepted by Vanguard Press in 1937. He was walking home down Madison Avenue with the book after rejection #27 and ran into an old childhood friend. He told the friend he was carrying “a book no one will publish. I’m lugging it home to burn.”

Turns out that the friend had just been named Editor of Children’s Books at Vanguard Press that very morning, and the rest is history.

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street is about 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.”

Though the book is not one of Geisel’s best-sellers, it received high critical praise and is still in print today. Can you imagine if it had gone up in flames and Geisel had never started a writing career? Geisel later said “if I’d been going down the other side of Madison Avenue, I’d be in the dry-cleaning business today.”