Once upon a time, there were no early readers. From the 1930s through the 1950s, kids learned to read from school primers featuring Dick and Jane (and, of course, Spot). These books relied on the "sight reading" method, which required kids to memorize whole words rather than sound them out phonetically. They also lacked any nuance of plot, chronicling the mundane activities of a family with fresh-scrubbed, well-behaved children. Then, in a 1954 Life magazine article, John Hersey lamented how "insipid" the primers were and specifically challenged several prominent children's authors to write more engaging books for beginners. In response, Dr. Seuss—one of the authors named in Hersey's article—transformed a list of school vocabulary words into The Cat in the Hat.

The Cat in the Hat went on to sell more than 10 million copies in a dozen languages. Pleased with popular response to the book, Random House, its publisher, created an imprint dedicated to early readers. Beginner Books published such early reader standards as A Fly Went By (1958), Green Eggs and Ham (1960), Go, Dog. Go! (1961), and Ten Apples up on Top! (1961), shown here. Many of these titles are still in print and remain popular today.