"I
like green eggs and ham! I like them Sam I Am!" Dr. Seuss wrote more than
40 children's books and won countless awards including two Emmy Awards, two Academy
Awards), a Peabody and a Pulitzer. The man behind the penname Dr. Seuss,
Theodore Geisel, was extremely talented, very witty, imaginative, artistic and
politically and socially conscious. His writing style was entertaining to say
the least. Because of his early reader books, reading and learning became more
fun for new readers. Today, the same children who grew up enjoying his books
and the many transformations of Dr. Seuss's stories are now introducing Dr.
Seuss to a new generation.
Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss), seated at desk covered with his books |
Often
times, the words he uses in his children's books sound like a lot of mumbo-jumbo.
There's a lot of rhyming going on in every page. Nonsense and made up words
form part of his stories. The locations and characters are often invented, but
many parallel the people, places and situations Geisel experienced or observed
throughout his life. He may have written his books for children but most adults
enjoy them, too. If you are willing to suspend reality and enter the world of
imagination, you will surely be in for a treat when you open a Dr. Seuss book.
Welcome to
the colorful world of Dr. Seuss!
The man behind Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
was the very famous penname of the man born on March 2, 1904 as Theodor Seuss
Geisel. He hailed from Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. Geisel grew up to
become a writer, a poet, a cartoonist, an animator, an artist, an illustrator,
a composer, and a book publisher. He was of German descent and grew up during
uneasy times. This was when German-Americans were put under the microscope
because of the political climate in Europe at the start of the 20th century.
Geisel was
a bookworm who loved reading. His mother, on occasion, was said to have used
books to bribe him to do things she wanted him to do. At a young age, it was
obvious that Geisel was witty and artistic. After high school, he attended
Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and later on Lincoln College, Oxford in the
United Kingdom. He did not complete his studies in Oxford but instead pursued
his love for drawing.
He held
different jobs during the beginning of his career. His wit and skill in
cartooning were not wasted as his humorous articles were published in different
magazines. Geisel entered the advertising world as an illustrator. One of his
most famous illustrations was for Flit, a popular insecticide. He was also a
political cartoonist for a New York City publication. During the Second World
War, Geisel found himself working for the U.S. Army, specifically under the
animation department. The film Design for Death that he wrote during his stint
in the U.S. Army won an Academy Award for Documentary Feature in 1947.
Advertising
gave Geisel and his first wife Helen Palmer, whom he met in Oxford, economic
stability. But it was writing children's books that made Geisel a household
name and a multi-awarded writer. After the death of Helen, he married Audrey Stone
Dimond in 1968. Geisel left this world on Sept 24, 1991. When he died, his
second wife Audrey was by his deathbed accompanied by Theophrastus, the stuffed
animal (a dog), which he had since he was young.
The many names of Theodore Geisel
Growing up,
Geisel was nicknamed Ted. His illustrations, cartoons and commentaries were
done and written under various pennames.
His very first pseudonym was Peter Pessimist back when he was in high
school. One of his more famous pennames was Theo LeSieg, which is Geisel
spelled backwards. He also used Rosetta Stone and Dr. Theophrastus Seuss (taken
from the name of his beloved stuffed animal). He also created cartoons under
the names T. Seuss, Seuss, L. Pasteur, and D.G. Rossetti ’25.
The very
famous penname Dr. Seuss was born in 1928; it was the shortened version of Dr.
Theophrastus Seuss. Many people thought the pronunciation of Seuss was similar
to the pronunciation of the word "loose." This is not so. Seuss
should sound like the word "voice." But the pronunciation that rhymed
with "loose" stuck to this day.
Dr. Seuss books
Students learn about Dr. Seuss and his literary works! |
His very
first children's book was "A Story That No One Can Beat." It was
rejected countless of times. Some sources said it was rejected by 20
publishers, some say 26, and some say 43 until Vanguard Press gamble on the
book in 1937. Geisel wrote about Marco and the wonderful things he saw on
Mulberry Street. It was a sort of commentary on how the author felt about Seuss
wrote the story as a commentary about how he felt that the imagination of children
were being stifled by adults. The book was later given the title "And to
Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street."
In total, Geisel published more than 40 children's books. He also had other works that were not meant for children. But it was the children's books that made him popular to many generations. The most popular of his Dr. Seuss books were:
The Cat in
the Hat
Green Eggs
and Ham
How the
Grinch Stole Christmas!
The Lorax
Horton
Hears a Who!
His other
books worth mentioning are:
One Fish, Two
Fish Red Fish, Blue Fish
The 500
Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
Horton
Hatches the Egg
And to
Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
Yertle the
Turtle
Fox in Sox
Dr. Seuss's
ABC
If I Ran
the Zoo
Hop on Pop
Adapting Seuss
Geisel's
books were adapted for television, film and even a Broadway musical. Some books
were turned into animated shorts while others were made into full-length
movies. "The Cat in the Hat" and "How the Grinch Stole
Christmas!" were both made into live action films with top actors from Hollywood.
"The Lorax" and "Horton Hears a Who!" were transformed into
full-length animated movies also with formidable actors lending their voices to
the characters of both stories.
One can
find bilingual Dr. Seuss books with the original text in English together with
the translation. Geisel's children's books have been translated to the
following languages: Spanish, French,
German, Italian, Russian, Afrikaans, Yiddish, Japanese, Chinese, Korean,
Serbo-Croatian and Latin. Of course, as expected, the nuances of the original
text, the metaphors, made up words, and the spirit of the story did not
necessarily translate well in all these languages. Still, it was quite a feat
for someone to have his works made available to children who spoke other
languages or who are learning English as another language.
Capturing the imagination of the
young
Four children reading the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss. |
Geisel's
writing style, illustrations and themes combined perfectly to capture the
hearts of children. He did not have kids but he knew how to entertain them. His
rhyming style was fun to read quietly with one's eyes but more so out loud with
feeling. The drawings in his books were simple yet attractive to young readers
young. They were amusing, funny and cute. Geisel drew interesting objects and
buildings that were usually droopy or lopsided and this added to the charm of
the worlds he created. His later works were more colorful. Characters appeared
to be in a state of motion even on a 2D medium.
Dr. Seuss
wrote in what can be called the language of children. His stories were down
right imaginative and told in a humorous, rhythmic style accompanied by silly
drawings. But behind all the perceived silliness are important lessons and
messages that kids and even adults can benefit from. Dr. Seuss wrote about
loving the environment, about rejecting racism, consumerism, materialism,
taking responsibility for one's actions and more.
Socio-political issues in Seuss
books
"Horton
Hears a Who!" came out in 1950. Its theme was internationalism and against
isolationism. In 1957, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" The story
focused on the consumerism and materialism brought about by the yearly
Christmas Season. "Yertle the Turtle" was anti-authoritarianism. It
came out in 1958, several years after the end of World War II. But even so, when
one read it, it seemed to hint on anti-Hitler sentiments.
In 1961,
Geisel's "The Sneetches" was published. Race equality was the theme
of this book. "The Butter Battle Book" came out during the Cold War
period in 1984. It was pointing to the on-going arms race and how seemingly
senseless the conflict was at that time.
"The
Lorax," which was published back in 1971, was made into a full-length
animated feature film with Danny DeVito lending his voice to the title
character. When Geisel wrote the book, it expressed his views on
anti-consumerism and the environmentalism.
It's been
more than 10 years since Theodore Geisel's demise. Dr. Seuss, however, is still
here to this day. He is in his children's books and in its many different
adaptations. Most of all, Dr. Seuss is also in the hearts of many people from
all over the world who grew up reading and loving his stories and who continue
to share these with the young children in their lives. The man that created the
characters Cat in the Hat, Grinch, Horton, Lorax and a host of other memorable
characters taught the world that language learning through reading can be fun.
So always
remember this quote from "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!" by Dr. Seuss
whenever you get tired of reading and learning:
“The more
that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more
places you'll go.”
Photo
Credits: Wikimedia Commons
Students learn about Dr.
Seuss and his literary works!
And so begins a story that will have a lot of this sort of thing. Over the next dozen years (thankfully the 123 is only 99 minutes), solarmovies
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