Last Christmas I donated all of my Dr. Seuss books to âA Book Under Every Tree.â Itâs a wonderful literacy initiative that benefits kids who may not have a lot of books in their home. I was happy to donate the books but the fact is I kinda miss them as well.
You see Dr. Seuss is one of my favourite authors and even though Will and Thom think theyâve outgrown his stories, I know I havenât. Perhaps itâs his use of nonsensical words or the enjoyable way they roll off my tongue. Perhaps itâs the unstated yet resonant message of his stories. Or perhaps itâs my appreciation for the man himself.
Dr. Seuss (born Theodor Seuss Geisel) had moxie. Despite the fact that he came from a family of German brewmasters during the onset of prohibition and World War I, Seuss (aka Ted) was able to gain popularity with his peers simply by being himself.
Seuss had perseverance âhis first childrenâs book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times before going to publication.
He had talent and versatility. Before he was a best-selling author he was a cartoonist for such notable publications as The Saturday Evening Post, Life and Vanity Fair. He was an ad man, a patriot and an academy award winning animator of World War II military training films.
And he changed the way educators approach childrenâs literacy.
Not everyone is aware of this, but Dr. Seussâ Cat in the Hat –considered to be the first âplayground word-of-mouth bestsellerâ âwas actually written in response to a challenge from William Spaulding, then-director of the education division at Houghton Miffin.
Spaulding had read a 1954 Life magazine article by John Hersey that suggested the reason schoolchildren couldnât read was because books, like Dick and Jane, âwere too boringâ. (True that!) Spaulding then challenged Seuss to not only write a story that 1st graders wouldnât be able to put down, but to write it using no more than 250 of the 348 words that Spaulding felt were important for grade one children to know. Seuss used 236.
I guess thatâs the secret to Seuss and why heâs a favourite of mine âmoxie, perseverance, talent and legacy. Yes, I admit I still miss my Dr. Seuss books but when I consider the benefits theyâre providing to their newest owners I think I can live without them. đ
~ Trina