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PHA Collaborates with Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Random House Children's Books

Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Partnership for a Healthier America, and Random House Children’s Books announce collaboration celebrating reading and healthy lifestyle choices for children and families

Let’s Read! Let’s Move! event with First Lady Michelle Obama brings children together for reading of Oh, the Things You Can Do that Are Good for You!

New York, NY (January 21, 2015) — Dr. Seuss Enterprises (DSE), Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), and Random House Children’s Books (RHCB) announced today that they are joining forces to celebrate reading and healthy lifestyle choices for children and families, anchored by a newly updated edition of the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library® title, Oh, the Things You Can Do that Are Good for You!

The collaboration was celebrated today at a Let’s Read! Let’s Move! event at the White House with First Lady Michelle Obama, who is also PHA’s honorary chairwoman. Joining the First Lady was a group of students from Seaton, Kendall Demonstration and Drew elementary schools in Washington, D.C., as well as Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat and Thing One and Thing Two characters, for a book reading, activities and exercises led by AmeriCorps and YMCA volunteers.

On January 27, in celebration of this literacy partnership, Random House Children’s Books will release a newly revised edition of Oh, the Things You Can Do that Are Good for You!, which has sold over 5 million copies to date and is part of Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library line. The new edition was updated with the expertise of PHA, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to make healthier choices easier for busy children and families. In Oh, the Things You Can Do that Are Good for You! the Cat in the Hat takes young readers to a Seussian spa, where they learn the basics of healthy living. Dr. Seuss’s beloved character explains the importance of eating right based on the latest USDA MyPlate recommendations; staying active; getting enough sleep; and a host of other daily activities. The 16 pages of new material include simple, fun suggestions for children to increase their activity throughout the day, plus 8 healthy, kid-friendly recipes.

“We are so energized by this project with Random House Children’s Books, our longtime publishing partner, and are excited to join forces with Partnership for a Healthier America,” said Susan Brandt, President, Licensing and Marketing, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. “We know that together we’ll be able to provide children and families with an extraordinarily important message about literacy and healthy lifestyle choices—which Dr. Seuss himself would honor if he was with us today.”

“For decades, Dr. Seuss’s creations have inspired children around the world to dream, imagine and play,” said PHA CEO Lawrence A. Soler. “Along the way, his characters have also helped encourage healthier choices, which we know can have a positive impact on kids. PHA is pleased to work with Random House Children’s Books and Dr. Seuss Enterprises to bring this new content to Dr. Seuss fans everywhere.”

“We are honored to be part of this initiative, and to support the growing importance of raising awareness of healthy lifestyle choices through reading—and what better way to reach children with this message than with Dr. Seuss’s beloved the Cat in the Hat,” said Barbara Marcus, President & Publisher, Random House Children’s Books.

About Let’s Read! Let’s Move!:

Let’s Read! Let’s Move! is an Administration-wide effort launched in 2010 by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps and other service programs. The initiative calls on government agencies, corporations, community organizations, and all Americans to come together to help kids stay active and healthy, and keep them learning through volunteer service. Answering the call to serve, the U.S. Department of Education launched its own Let’s Read! Let’s Move! summer enrichment series in 2010 that supports the First Lady’s national campaign to combat childhood obesity and aims to increase awareness about the critical importance of early learning, nutrition and physical activity.

These events bring together hundreds of young students ─ pre-kindergarten through third grade-across a diverse demographic stretching across the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and beyond. During sessions held at the Department of Education and at various museums and historical locations, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, other Cabinet officials, top Administration officials, key education advocates, highly visible celebrities, including members of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, and local and national politicians come together to read, distribute books and participate in games and fitness activities that promote healthy lifestyle choices and nutrition for children.

Let’s Read! Let’s Move! highlights the importance of access to high-quality early-learning programs in providing all children with a strong start on the path to readiness for school and also encourages youth participation and community service through the support of AmeriCorps members at each event and a partnership with the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington PHD (Physical, Healthy & Driven) program. Target Corporation provides healthy snacks, and every child is able to select a free new book to take home, courtesy of Target and its partnership with First Book. For more information on Let’s Read! Let’s Move! visit letsmove.gov

About Dr. Seuss: Theodor “Seuss” Geisel is quite simply one of the most beloved children’s book authors of all time. Winner of a Pulitzer Prize, an Academy Award, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Caldecott Honors, Geisel wrote and illustrated 44 books for children. Though Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading. For more information about Dr. Seuss and his works, visit Seussville.com.

About Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P.: The primary focus of the Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. is to protect the integrity of the Dr. Seuss books while expanding beyond books into ancillary areas. This effort is a strategic part of the overall mission to nurture and safeguard the relationship consumers have with Dr. Seuss characters. Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) said he never wanted to license his characters to anyone who would “round out the edges.” That is one of the guiding philosophies of Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Audrey S. Geisel, the widow of Dr. Seuss, heads Dr. Seuss Enterprises as CEO.

About PHA: The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is devoted to working with the private sector to ensure the health of our nation’s youth by solving the childhood obesity crisis. In 2010, PHA was created in conjunction with – but independent from – First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! effort. PHA is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that is led by some of the nation’s most respected health and childhood obesity experts. PHA brings together public, private and nonprofit leaders to broker meaningful commitments and develop strategies to end childhood obesity. Most important, PHA ensures that commitments made are commitments kept by working with unbiased, third parties to monitor and publicly report on the progress our partners are making. For more information about PHA, please visit www.aHealthierAmerica.org and follow PHA on Twitter @PHAnews.

Random House Children’s Books: The world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, ebooks, and apps, the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House is the longtime home of the beloved and bestselling Dr. Seuss books which continue to make learning to read fun for millions of children everywhere.