The GreatThe Great

Dr. SeussDr. Seuss

By Michelle McCarthyPeriod 3

Mr. MooneyApril 25, 2007

Who says that staying young forever is bad?

Dr. Seuss had the mind of a child but lived

on for over 90 years.

“Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them.”

-Dr. Seuss

The Background Basics

• Born March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts• Started reading books by Dickens and Stevenson at a

young age because of German background called names like Kaiser

• Mother used to chant rhymes and he credited her for “ the rhymes in which I write and the urgency with which I do it” –Theodor Seuss Geisel

• Father was zookeeper which may have influenced stories like If I Ran the Zoo

*during his childhood (World War I years), frankenfurters were called “hotdogs” and sauerkraut “liberty cabbage” as an act of U.S. patriotism

Early Life• Attended Dartmouth where “Ted grew to

respect the academic discipline he discovered at Dartmouth- not enough to pursue it, but to appreciate those who did.” (Morgan 28)

• Editor-in-chief for humor magazine Jack-O-Lantern at his college

• Lost editor privilege after getting caught throwing a drinking party with his friends

• Went under new name, Seuss, to continue to contribute to the magazine without the suspicion of officials

• After college, went to Oxford where he met his wife Helen Palmer who suggested he become an artist rather than a professor

• Met wife Helen Palmer there, who saw his doodles, suggested he become artist instead of professor.

• Didn’t like the scholarly ways, took trip to Europe for a year

Advertising• Drew for The Saturday Evening Post• When Ted was offered two advertising jobs by two competing firms,

he flipped a coin to make his decision and worked for Standard Oil as a result for over 15 years

• “As a result ‘Quick, Henry, the Flit!’ was introduced into the American Vernacular.” (Morgan 65)

*Adopted Dr. because said dad always wanted a doctor in the family

WWII Efforts•Too old to fight, served with Frank Capra's Signal Corps (U.S. Army) in making training movies starring Private Snafu, this is where he was first exposed to animation

•“The Private Snafu assignments that Ted oversaw included scripts set to rhyme” (Morgan 109)

•He also drew political cartoons for the PM magazine, a liberal publication

More Political Cartoons

“You make 'em, I amuse 'em.”-Dr. Seuss

• Wrote first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, and had it rejected by 27 publishers

• First break when he ran into friend his friend from Dartmouth, McClintock, who had just received a job as editor at Vanguard. He showed the book to the people in charge, and soon the book was published

*Sometimes wrote under Theo LeSeig and let other people illustrate

The Cat in the HatNext book was a response to Hersey’s article Why Johnny Can’t Read

“He called for illustrations that ‘widen rather than narrow the associative richness the children give to the words,’ and concluded the work of artists like Geisel and Walt Disney would be more appropriate.” (Morgan 153-54)

In 225 words wrote The Cat in the Hat, published by Random House. Earned position as head of the Beginner Books division

Continued to write, wife wrote 4 books as well, his books entertained while teaching morals

Original cat in the hat drawings

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary

ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong

end of a telescope, which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh

at life's realities.” -Dr. Seuss

Green Eggs and HamGreen Eggs and Ham

Publisher Bennett Cerf wagered $50 that Ted couldn’t write a book using 50 words or less, in response, Ted wrote Green Eggs and Ham, one of his most popular books. Ted often joked that Cerf never paid up.

The Prankster Within• Phony pages in his

manuscripts to make sure editors paying attention

• In his book of the alphabet he inserted a page for the letter X of a large-breasted woman and the text: "Big X, little X, XXX, some day, kiddies, you will learn about sex."

• Ted once drew cartoons on the vest of a distinguished naval officer, whom he caught sleeping

For Adults?• The Butter Battle Book remained, for six months, on the

New York Times Bestseller List . . . for adults. • It mocked the race for arms with the Yooks and the

Gooks fighting simply because the other ate their bread butter side down.

• Ted wrote and illustrated a picture book for adults titled The Seven Lady Godivas, and that it almost became a Broadway musical?

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are

simple.”

–Dr. Seuss

Spare Time• Also liked to garden• According to Cathy

Goldsmith, his art director from 1980-91, “his sense of color was very idiosyncratic”

• Wanted critical recognition as artist, but never sold paintings afraid of rejection

Punish Your Offspring Scientifically!Fort or fifty years ago, when I was a boy, I swore like a trooper. Althoughmy mother continually washed out my mouth with soap and water, today I swearworse that ever. Mother's mistake was in using only one kind of soap!Modern mothers realize that every single curse word must be treated individually with a special brand of suds.-Dr. Seuss

Random Interesting Facts

• When Ted quit smoking, he planted radish seeds in a corncob pipe and watered them with an eyedropper

• Ted made up the word Nerd• Harry Potter was the top seller of kids

books, right below Seuss.

Dr. “Zoice” ->

His Legacy• Books translated into

more than 15 languages.

• Over 200 million copies published

•Books source for 11 children's television specials, 1 Broadway musical and a feature-length motion picture. With more on the way

•He won 2 Academy awards, 2 Emmy awards, a Peabody award and the Pulitzer Prize.

Pictures of Seuss

His work is so simple, yet no one has compared to him.

How long will it be until there is a new Dr. Seuss?

Bibliography• "All About Dr. Seuss." 2004. Tortus Technologies, Inc. 18 Apr.

2007 <http://www.catinthehat.org/history.htmTM>. • "Did You Know..." Art on 5th. 21 Apr. 2007

<http://www.arton5th.com/seuss/facts.htm>. • "Dr. Seuss." Buying the Cow. 03 Jan. 2006. 20 Apr. 2007

<http://www.norcalblogs.com/buying/archives/2006/01/dr_seuss.html>.

• "Dr. Seuss." The Everything Development Company. 12 Apr. 2000. 20 Apr. 2007 <http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Dr.%20Seuss>.

• "Early Works by Dr. Seuss." 20 Apr. 2007 <http://www.afn.org/~afn15301/seussfiles/early.html>.

• "How Orlo Got His Book." The New York Times 17 Nov. 1957: 22.

• Morgan, Judith, and Neil Morgan. Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel. New York: Da Capo P, 1995. 1-293.

• Neary, Lynn. "Fifty Years of the Cat in the Hat." Children's Books. 1 Mar. 2007. NPR. 19 Apr. 2007 <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7651308#7649624>.

• Nevius, C W. "Hats Off to Dr. Seuss." San Francisco Chronicle 03 Mar. 2003. 20 Apr. 2007.

• Otis, Rebecca. "Feuture Author: Dr. Seuss." Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site. 2007. 19 Apr. 2007 <http://www.carolhurst.com/authors/drseuss.html>.