Dr Seuss receives Hollywood star

The author, seen here in a stamp, wrote more than 40 books

Children's author Dr Seuss was given a posthumous star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on Thursday, a week before the DVD release of The Cat In The Hat.

Seuss - real name Theodor Geisel - died in 1991, but his widow Audrey accepted the honour on his behalf.

The ceremony opened with a reading of The Cat In The Hat led by Spencer Breslin, the 11-year-old co-star with Mike Myers in last year's film version.

Jim Carrey starred in another Dr Seuss film, The Grinch, released in 2000.

"I think if Ted saw this he would have said, 'Thank God I am dead!' He was a very private man," the author's widow said.

Johnny Grant, honorary mayor of Hollywood, said he was "a man who charmed his way into the consciousness of generations of youngsters, and parents, and in so doing helped millions of children learn to read".

Mike Myers' (centre) film topped the US film chart

Seuss' widow has run the global merchandising arising from her husband's books, which also include The Lorax, Green Eggs and Ham and Hop on Pop.

Seuss wrote more than 40 books during his career, which have sold more than half-a-billion copies around the world.

Myers' version of The Cat in Hat topped the US film charts when it was released for last year's Thanksgiving holiday.