Photo courtesy of ilovedrseuss



"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose." — Dr. Seuss


Theodore Geisel, better know as Dr. Seuss, would have been 105 today. The Seussian universe he created, populated by whimsical  plants, improbable animals and rhyme spouting denizens is politically astute (the Butter Battle Book is an anti-war story, and specifically challenged Reagan’s decision to put defense ahead of social welfare programs during the Cold War), ecologically revelatory (The Lorax is an environmental fable that speaks out against the destruction of the environment), socially insightful (The Sneetches) and just plain fun.




Photo courtesy of ilovedrseuss


Who doesn't love the ridiculous tenacity of Sam I Am in proffering green eggs and ham to his reluctant recipient? Who doesn't love Horton's heroism or the Grinch's redemption? Who can resist Theodore Geisel's crazy made-up words? Not me.

Theodore Geisel was descended from a long line of German brew masters on his father’s side. After being caught at a drinking party during the Prohibition era, Theodore was forced to continue writing for Dartmouth’s paper under a pseudonym. Thus, Dr. Seuss was born. Here are 5 more things you might not have know about Dr. Seuss, according to the National Post:

5:  Dr. Seuss rhymes with another epic figure in children's literature: Mother Goose. Coincidence? No.

4: When presenting the dialog for the magicians in Bartholomew and the Oobleck, Seuss employed the use of trochees (or chorues) which presents text in an alternating pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables ("Shuffle, duffle, muzzle, muff". The technique was also used by Shakespeare with his cauldron stirring witches in Macbeth (Toil! Toil!), by Poe in his poem The Raven and often in nursery rhymes.

3: After his career as a children's author/illustrator began, Geisel worked as an editorial cartoonist in New York during World War 2, which illustrated his rabid anti-fascism views. You can view a collection of his political cartoons here. They were also collected in a book called Dr.Seuss Goes to War, with an introduction by Art Spiegleman. Seuss also wrote several WW2-era propaganda films.

2. Theodore Geisel wrote children's books under a trio of pen names: Dr. Seuss, which was reserved for the books he both wrote and illustrated; as Theo LeSeig, for books that he wrote without illustrating; and as Rosetta Stone, for one book he penned called Because a Little Bug Went Ka-choo!

1: Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat was born as a response to an article which was published in Life Magazine in 1954,. The piece criticized American school primers as intensely boring, unchallenging to readers and responsible for causing harm to children's literacy. The article called for more primers to up the excitement by energizing the language and including drawings like those of "imaginative geniuses among children’s illustrators, Tenniel, Howard Pyle, Theodor S. Geisel." Using the piece as a call to action, Geisel and his publisher came up with a list of 400 "exciting" words, which Seuss than narrowed down for the book, and included 13 more of his own. The final product is 1626 words in length and uses a total vocabulary of 236 words.

The tale of the Lorax was Seuss' environmental fable published in 1971. In it, he speaks out against the destruction of the environment through the Lorax, a sage figure who speaks for the trees, only to watch his habitat destroyed by an unsustainable business. After the plants are killed and the animals leave the barren wasteland behind, the polluting Once-ler realizes the terrible mistake he's made, and urges a young boy to plant the last-ever Truffula seed to restore the beauty of the land.

Here's a clip of the beginning of the TV special based on one of my favorite Seuss books, The Lorax:

Relevant links:

Dr. Seuss poems

Fluffiness of soft toilet paper comes at a price to trees

Seuss-like sea creatures discovered

Dr. Seuss Wikipedia