Dr. Seuss

     Have you ever wondered where the Cat in The Hat came from?  Or the Fox in Socks?  Well the answer to that is Theodor Seuss Geisel, or better know as Dr. Seuss.  Dr. Seuss has shared 60 books with the world.  His first book was rejected 27 times and now his books have been translated into many languages and millions of copies have been sold around the world.  He has inspired so many people to read and write and years after his death, his books are still being read today.

     Seuss was born in 1904 on Howard Street, Springfield Massachusetts. His father was Theodor Robert Geisel and his mother was Henrietta Seuss Geisel. Both Seuss's father and grandfather brewed beer in the city.  His full name is Theodor Seuss Geisel.  The Geisel family had lots of money.  During World War I, making money was difficult for German immigrants, but because the Geisels had money, he and his sisters Marnie and Henrietta had a nice childhood. (Tortus Technology, Inc.)

     Dr. Seuss accomplished so much in his lifetime, from creating political cartoons to children's books.  Starting at the beginning of Dr. Seuss's life, his mother would put him and his sisters to sleep by chanting rhymes from her childhood.  Seuss usually said his mom gave him his ability to create rhymes and stories. Ted went to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.  After graduation, he went to Oxford in England  to make his father happy, although he didn’t really have any intention in going.  After spending a little time at Oxford,Theodor got bored and went on a tour of England.  He meet his first wife, Helen Plamer, at Oxford.  Helen was a children's author and book editor. 

     Later he decided to come back to America to become a cartoonist.  In 1927, Seuss published a cartoon In the July issue of "The Saturday Evening Post."  That got Seuss a job working for the New York Weekly Judge.  He would work there for the next 15 years.  He created an ad for Filt, which is a common insecticide. The ad become nationally know and he continued in the advertising department. (Tortus Technologies, Inc.)

     Later, Viking press offered Seuss a job/contract illustrating a children's book called Boners. The book was never bought and it failed.  Illustrating Boners was not a total fail though, at least not for Dr. Seuss.  That experience exposed Seuss to children's literature.  He started writing his first book, And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street.  It was rejected 27  times before it was published 1937 by Vanderguard Press.  Seuss always wanted to write novels, so in 1939 he wrote and published a book called The Seven Lady Godivas.  Not many people liked his book and, unfortunately, it failed.  He wanted to become a full time cartoonist, so he made illustrations and wrote articles in lots of magazines like LIFE and Vanity Fair.

     When WW II started, Seuss began working every week on political cartoons for the Liberal Publication PM magazine.  In 1942 Seuss was too old to serve in the military, so he worked with Frank Capra, (a director) who designed signal corps posters and training films.  Later, in 1954, LIFE magazine published an article by John Hersey that said kids' reading levels were too low.  So, Houghton Mifflin and Random House publishing companies, asked Seuss to write a book using 220 vocabulary words.  Thus was created The Cat In The Hat in 1957.

 It was described as a "tour de force", meaning an impressive achievement.  He encouraged people to read his books with vocabulary words.  Next, Theodor and Helen started the "Beginner Books Division of Random House Publishing" in 1958.  Over the next few years Dr. Seuss wrote lots more books.  His publisher, Bennett Cerf, bet him $50 that he couldn’t write a book using 50 words, and he ended up writing Green Eggs and Ham in 1960.  He used more vocabulary words and wrote How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1966.

     In October 1967, his wife Helen had cancer and "emotional pain" because Theodor had cheated on her with an old friend, Audrey Stone Diamond.  Later Helen committed suicide and Seuss married Audrey the next year.  "The Lorax" was the only book people tried to ban.  It was also his favorite book and it took him the least time to write it.  More than books have come from Dr. Seuss.  There have been 11 TV shows, a Broadway musical, and a feature length motion picture.  Jen Robinson, child literature expert, said "I think that the key to Dr. Seuss' enduring appeal lies in the spirit of playfulness that permeates his work." His books have been translated into 15+ languages and more than 200 million copies of his books have been sold and read around the world.

Unfortunately, he died on September 24, 1991 at the age of 87 in La Jolla, California.  Shortly after, in 1997, The Art of Dr. Seuss project started.  Limited edition prints and sculptures of Dr. Seuss' work were at art galleries next to famous art works of Miro and Picasso.  Sixteen of his books are on Publishers Weekly's list of "100 Top Selling Hardcover Children's Books of All Time." 

     Just a year ago, in February 2015, Random House Children's Books said they were publishing a new Dr. Seuss book called What Pet Should I Get?.  The manuscript and sketches were discovered by the author's window in his home.  

     Dr. Seuss was such an amazing author who wrote and illustrated great children's books.  From nationally known ads to kids' books, he achieved so much in his life. 

Bibliography

Biography.com Editors. "Dr. Seuss Biography." The Biography.com website. A&E TelevisionNetworks, publishing date: n/a. Web. February 15, 2016.      <http://www.biography.com/people/dr-seuss-9479638>         

Porter, William. "Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, influenced nearly every living American who ever learned to read." Denverpost.com. Website publisher: n/a.      February 23, 2014. Web. February 13, 2016. <http://www.denverpost.com/books/ci_25194496/dr-seuss-theodor-geisel-centennial>

Unknown author. "All About Dr. Seuss." catinthehat.org. Tortus Technologies, Inc.2002-2004. Web. February 13, 2016.

     <http://www.catinthehat.org/history.htm>

Unknown Author. "How Many Times Was Dr. Seuss Rejected?"Feelingsuccess.com. Website publisher: n/a. Published date: n/a. Web. February 14, 2016.      <http://www.feelingsuccess.com/how-many-times-was-dr-seuss-rejected/>

Wheeler, Jill C. Dr. Seuss(Young at Heart). Minnesota: ABDO & Daughters Publishing, 1992.