NEW YORK, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Random House Children's Books has selected Isaac Hellemn, from Plano, Texas, a senior at Plano West Senior High School, as the winner of its first annual Oh, the Places You'll Go! College Scholarship; it was announced today by Chip Gibson, President and Publisher, Random House Children's Books. His winning essay was entitled "Father, I Wonder, Why Bother with School?" and he will receive $5,000 toward his post-secondary education, which he will pursue at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Isaac credits his parents with teaching him to follow his dreams, and his many interests--from writing screenplays to climbing mountains around the world--to his inquisitive personality. He said, "The most important lesson that I have learned from my parents is that we define ourselves, and that it is never too late or too difficult to become something new." Isaac is looking forward to the many opportunities that college will present, and plans to major in business. Before going off to college in the fall, Isaac will continue his many adventures with a trip to the trip to the Yucatan region of Mexico.

Random House received over 12,000 entries for the scholarship, which was established in 2010 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Dr. Seuss's perennial bestseller. The winner was selected by a panel of judges, including representatives from Random House, Dr. Seuss Enterprises L.P., and the educational community.

In the spirit of Dr. Seuss's joyous ode to personal fulfillment and its enduring message about life's ups and downs, for the Oh, the Places You'll Go! College Scholarship, high school seniors were asked to describe in an essay the opportunities and challenges that they think their education will present to them in the future. Upon its publication in 1990, Oh, the Places You'll Go! was an immediate success, embraced enthusiastically for its wonderfully wise outlook on life and for encouraging the potential that lies within us all. This remarkable book has since sold over 8.5 million copies and become the quintessential gift for graduates of all ages--from preschool to high school to college and beyond.

For more information about the scholarship program, visit www.ohtheplaces.org. Entries will be accepted for 2011 beginning November 2010.

Random House Children's Books is 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 to novels, 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. The company's award-winning Web site Kids @ Random (www.randomhouse.com/kids) offers an array of materials and activities free of charge for children, teens, parents, and educators. Random House Children's Books is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG, a leading international media company.

SOURCE Random House Children's Books