Theodor Seuss Geisel by Peter Edwards (Ludwig) and Kelly Spencer (Katja)

Dr. Seuss

“I like the 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 the telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.” –Theodor Seuss Geisel

1904 Theodor Seuss was born on March 2 in Springfield, Massachusetts. His parents were German immigrants. His father always pushed him to do his best in everything he did.

Seuss attended Oxford University after graduating from Dartmouth College. Later he dropped out, at a suggestion from Helen Palmer, to pursue cartooning. Helen was his college girlfriend.

At Dartmouth College, Theodor was editor-in-chief of the school magazine called Jack-O-Lantern. He lost his position after he was found having a party in his room. He continued to submit articles under his first pen name “Seuss”. Seuss translate to “sweet” in German. Another pen name that he had was “Theo. LeSieg” This was his last name spelled backwards. His dad had hopes of Seuss becoming a doctor, Seuss figured he would save his father thousands of dollars by adopting the “Dr” in front of his pen name.

1927 Seuss married Helen Palmer. She supported him in his work and even encouraged him to free lance his illustrations. Helen was also very helpful in keeping him organized and meeting deadlines

“When he was in his 30s Seuss decided he should be a children’s writer.” This was ironic because he was afraid of children. His first idea came to him one stormy night on a cruise ship. Sitting in the bar, he realized that the sound from the ship’s engines created a rhythm. He then came up with the words to his first book.

1937 Dr. Seuss's first published book was titled “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”. It was rejected by over 20 publishers before his friend finally published it for him. His friend worked for Vanguard Press

1957 Geisel’s most famous children’s book, “The Cat in the Hat”, was published. From a list of 225 words that was given to him by a publisher, he used 220 of the key words to create this book

“In 1959, he was the highest-paid author in the world for that year, earning about $200,000.” Which is equivalent to $12.8 Million today.

1967 Dr. Seuss’s first wife Helen, died and he went on to marry a long time friend. Her name was Audrey Stone. Audrey helped influence Seuss’s later books. Now she is president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

1984 Theodor receives a special Pulitzer Prize for his lifelong dedication to the education of children.

Even though Theodore accomplished so much as a children’s book writer, he was not one his whole life. Side jobs that he had included writing and illustrating political cartoons. At one point he was in charge of making and editing safety films for the United States Army.

The other side of Seuss People know about his famous children’s books that are colorful, rhyming, cute drawings and overall charming atmosphere. The not so child-like side of Seuss came in the form of his political cartoons.

Seuss had clear opinions about WWII and expressed it through political cartoons. Dr. Seuss goes to war against Hitler, and to provoke the American people into participating in the war by purchasing “War Bonds”.

After World War II he returned his focus to writing children’s books. During this time he went on to write 44 children’s books. Some notable books are “The Cat in the Hat”, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, and “Green Eggs and Ham”.

1991 On September 24, 1991, Theodor Seuss Geisel died. His books have been translated into more than 15 different languages and had sold more than 200 million copies around the world.

Dr. Seuss, and his work are still recognized and celebrated today

Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden In his memory, sculptor Lark Grey Dimond-Cates (Seuss’s step-daughter) made bronze statues of Seuss and some of the characters from his books. They are on display in a memorial garden located in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat

The Grinch and his dog, Max

Horton the Elephant, Thing One and Thing Two

Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose

The Lorax

Yertle the Turtle Tower

Work Cited Slide # 7, 8 Theodor Seuss Geisel: Author and Illustrator Copyright 2006 by Infobase Publishing Slide # 10image - (1957) Slide # 11Dr. Seuss Best Loved Author (1959) Author: Carin T Ford Copyright 2003 by Enslow Publishers Slides # 12, 27,28 (1967) (1991) Slide # 13Imagination (1984) Cannot find book that it was quoted from. Slide # 29 (stamp image) Slides # 30 – 36