I admit it. When it comes to poetry, I’m far from cultured. If it doesn’t rhyme, I’m not interested. Which explains why I like Dr. Seuss.
Early Life
Theodor “Ted” Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He began drawing animals at Springfield’s Forest Park Zoo, when his father became the curator in 1920, a job he held for thirty years. But it was Ted’s mother who inspired his love of rhymes, regularly chanting bedtime rhymes to her children.
At Dartmouth College, Ted acted as editor-in-chief of the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern until he was caught drinking and forced to resign. (It was during Prohibition, and there was a zero-tolerance policy.) This infraction also resulted in him having to use a pseudonym to publish his work. He tried several names before he finally settled on “Dr. Seuss.”
Did You Know…
- Ted Geisel’s Dartmouth classmates voted him “Least Likely to Succeed.”
- Dr. Seuss wasn’t a real doctor. He added “Dr.” because that’s what his father had hoped he’d become.
- Dr. Seuss’s family emigrated to the U.S. from Bavaria, Germany. The correct German pronunciation of “Seuss” is “Soice,” but Dr. Seuss used the pronunciation of “Soose” because he liked that it rhymed with Mother “Goose.”
- The zoo inspired Dr. Seuss to write, If I Ran the Zoo (1950). His invented word, “nerd,” was first used in that book.
Writing Career
Before “Dr. Seuss” made it big as a children’s book author, Ted Geisel had successful careers in advertising, illustrating, and as a cartoonist. He was an avid writer, but his advertising contract limited what he could publish. Because children’s books were an exception, he began writing them to avoid breaching his contract.
In 1937, Dr. Seuss finally published his first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. It only took six years and 27 rejections.
Did You Know…
- During World War II, Ted Geisel drew more than 400 political cartoons for a New York daily newspaper called “PM.”
- In 1943, Ted Geisel enlisted in the army where he wrote and helped produce WWII propaganda films, featuring the misadventures of Private SNAFU.
Children’s Books
The Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Green Eggs and Ham, are three of Dr. Suess’s most well-known and loved children’s books.
In a 1954 report, children said they had trouble learning to read because of boring books. So Dr. Seuss’s publisher tasked him with writing a non-boring children’s book using the 250 most important words for young children. The result? The Cat in the Hat. It uses 236 of those 250 simple words.
In 1960, Dr. Seuss’s editor bet him $50 that he couldn’t write a book using 50 words or less. Dr. Seuss won that bet with the now classic, Green Eggs and Ham, which has sold over eight million copies.
Did You Know…
- Dr. Seuss thought the Dick and Jane book series simple but boring.
- The Cat in the Hat took over a year to write, but in less than three years had sold one million copies.
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas was self-inspired, but it took three months for Dr. Seuss to figure out how to end it.
- The Grinch movie flopped when first released.
- Random House estimated Dr. Seuss received 9,267 pounds of fan mail every year.
Awards
In his eighty-seven years, Theodor “Ted” Seuss Geisel wrote and published 51 books as Dr. Seuss. He also published another fourteen books under pen names Theo. LeSieg (13) and Rosetta Stone (1).
He won numerous awards, including two Oscars (1947, 1951), a Peabody (1971), two Emmys (1977, 1982), the Pulitzer Prize (1984), and was given a Star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame (2004).
Did You Know…
- Dr. Seuss’s books have been translated into more than twenty different languages and sold more than 700 million copies worldwide. Some of the most popular still sell hundreds of thousands of copies each year.
- Dr. Seuss was the first person to win a Pulitzer Prize for writing children’s books.
Quotes
Various favorite lines from Dr. Seuss’s children’s books are often quoted. Witty and wacky, we love them. The following quotes (from books and/or interviews) may not be as common, but all offer simple but smart advice.
Did You Know Dr. Seuss Said…
- “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.”
- “Why fit in when you were born to stand out.”
- “You have to be odd to be number one.”
- “Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think and twice as beautiful as you’ve ever imagined.”
- “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
- “You’ll never be bored when you try something new. There’s really no limit to what you can do.”
- “So be sure when you step, step with care and great tact. And remember that life is a great balancing act.”
- “If things start happening, don’t worry, don’t stew, just go right along and you’ll start happening too.”
- “You ought to be thankful, a whole heaping lot, for the places and people you’re lucky you’re not.”
- “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
- “Reading can take you places you have never been before.”
- “You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.”
- “You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child.”
Last Thoughts
Dr. Seuss changed children’s literature for the best. He made learning to read fun with his rhyming words and whimsical tales.
Here are two final quotes from Dr. Seuss for you to ponder.
“When something bad happens you have three choices. You can either let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.”
“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”
Did You Know…
- Dr. Seuss owned a real dinosaur footprint left in a Massachusetts shale pit about 150 million years ago.
- Dr. Seuss liked practical jokes.
- GRINCH was Dr. Seuss’s personalized license plate.
- March 2 is National Dr. Seuss Day.