Merced’s Barnes & Noble celebrates Dr. Seuss’ new book

Children gathered at the Merced Barnes & Noble last week to celebrate the author who penned famous rhymes, such as “The Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs and Ham” and the newest to the collection – “What Pet Should I Get?”

The bookstore’s “Dr. Seuss Spectacular” event Friday night included a reading of Seuss’ newest title and art activities centered around his most famous characters. “What Pet Should I Get?” hit shelves Tuesday.

Alyssa Duran, a Barnes & Noble employee, read from “What Pet Should I Get,” which features Seuss’ familiar, funky illustrations and tells a story about a brother and sister who try to make up their minds on what animal to make their pet.

By the end of the book, the siblings leave the pet store with a basket. “The dog…? Or the rabbit…? The fish…? Or the cat…? I picked one out fast, and that that was that,” the story reads.

Seuss gives no other clues as to what pet the siblings chose.

“I think they got a dog because everybody loves dogs,” said Rhiannon Romero, 8, after the reading.

Rhiannon is a Seuss fan and has “lots” of his books. Her favorite is a classic – “Green Eggs and Ham.”

Andy Galaviz and Lizette De La Rosa take their 3-year-old daughter, Natalie, to events at Barnes & Noble regularly. On Friday, Natalie colored a striped hat like the one from “Cat in the Hat,” attached it to a headband and wore it while she colored other Seuss characters.

Participants in the “Seuss Spectacular” also put their names in for a raffle of a “Cat in the Hat” book, audiobook and fun hat. The event was the last in Barnes & Noble’s Get Pop-Cultured series. Other events included Vinyl Day, Minions Fun, Star Wars Saturday and a Harper Lee Celebration to mark the release of her new book, “Go Set a Watchman.”

This story was originally published August 2, 2015 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Merced’s Barnes & Noble celebrates Dr. Seuss’ new book."