Dr Seuss

Today is the birthday of Theodore Seuss Geisel, better known to most as Dr Seuss writer and illustrator of whimsical children's books. He was born on March 2, 1904 and died at the age of 87 in September 1991. His first book, The Cat In The Hat, was published in 1957, I was just 7 years old. My parents weren't very tuned in to children's books but as a child who loved books I ran into Dr Seuss early at the library. I think his books may have been frowned on by educators at the time but he certainly was more interesting than Dick, Jane, Sally, Spot and Puff. See Dick run, Run Dick. Run. Seuss had greater appeal than those ,and by the time my children were born there was near fifty books published. I read all of them aloud with my sons and loved the stories and lyrical rhymes every bit as much as they did. A favourite was The Sleep Book, which left us all more stimulated than sleepy at bedtime, it was such fun. He published a few books with a serious and darker tone, The Butter Battle Book (protesting the nuclear arms race) and The Lorax which addressed the environment. He even wrote a book for adults, Oh The Things You Will See which became popular as a graduation gift.

My sons and I enjoyed many happy hours reading aloud when they were young and Dr Seuss was a memorable part of the experience.