Seventeen years after his death, the works of Theodor Seuss
Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, including his chaos-causing
”
Cat in the Hat,
”
are still hugely popular with young readers.
Seventeen years after his death, the works of Theodor Seuss Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, including his chaos-causing “Cat in the Hat,” are still hugely popular with young readers.
What was Geisel’s childhood like?
Theodor Geisel was a third-generation German immigrant who was born March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Mass. His father, Theodor Robert, and his grandfather owned a brewery. During World War I, people became suspicious of German immigrants, and Prohibition was hard on the Geisel family. The family endured, though, and became successful again.
Despite the hard times for his family, Geisel and his sister had happy childhoods. Their mother used to lull her children to sleep using stories told in a rhythmic chant, a method Geisel would remember and later use in his books.
How did he start writing?
Geisel went to Dartmouth College and
became editor of the school humor
magazine, the “Jack-O-Lantern.” He then went to Oxford University in England but became bored with his studies. He traveled
Europe, then married Oxford classmate Helen Palmer in 1927. They soon returned to the United States. In New York, he began selling cartoons to “The Saturday Evening Post” and other magazines. Much of his work was in advertising.
In 1936, Geisel wrote and illustrated the children’s book “And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” which was rejected by 43 publishers before being printed.
During World War II, he volunteered and became an animator for Frank Capra’s Signal Corps, making Army training films.
In 1954, Geisel’s publisher gave him a list of 400 words and asked him to create a book using 250 of those. Young children were having trouble reading, the publisher explained, because early-reader books were boring. Geisel used 220 of the words and wrote “The Cat in the Hat,” one of his most popular books.
In 1960, fellow author Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn’t write a book using only 50 words. Geisel wrote “Green Eggs and Ham.”
Why did he adopt the name Dr. Seuss?
When he was at Dartmouth College, Geisel and some of his friends got into trouble for throwing a party. He was told to resign from the school magazine. Wanting to keep working, Geisel began to sign his work Seuss, his mother’s maiden name and his middle name.
How many books did he write?
Geisel wrote 54 books, mostly children’s literature. Some of his popular books include “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Horton Hears a Who,” “Hop on Pop,” “Yertle the Turtle,” “Fox in Socks” and “Oh! The Places You’ll Go.” His books have been translated into 20 languages, and more than 500 million copies have been sold, making him one of the bestselling children’s authors. He won two Academy Awards, a pair of Emmy awards and the Pulitzer Prize.
What happened to Geisel?
After a serious illness, Geisel’s wife, Helen, who was also a children’s author, committed suicide in 1967. Geisel married his friend Audrey Stone Dimond the next year. Geisel lost his sight to glaucoma, then was found to have cancer. He died Sept. 24, 1991.
Other Facts
Read Across America
The National Education Association’s annual Read Across America Day is March 2. The event, started in 1998 to get kids excited about reading, has become the nation’s largest reading event. The event is celebrated by more than 25 million schools, kids, parents, celebrities politicians, athletes and charities on or near Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
Sculpture Garden
The Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden is located in Springfield, Mass. The bronze sculptures – designed by Lark Grey Dimond-Cates, who also is Geisel’s stepdaughter – are clustered in three large groupings: “Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat,” “Horton Court” and “The Storyteller.”
