There are many popular children’s books authors out there. Unfortunately,
not all are as recognized as Theodore Geisel, more commonly referred to as “dr.
Suess.” To find out what makes an author as successful as Suess, one must first
find out about the author’s history, the author’s experiences, and the author
himself.
Theodore Suess Geisel was born on March 2,1904, in Springfield,
Massachusetts. This date became the marking date of the birth of a great
American author. Geisel grew up with his father managing a city zoo. Going to
school at Dartmouth College, A.B., 1925 and having graduate study at Lincoln
College, Oxford, 1925-26, and the University of Paris, 1926, Theodore planned to
take up a career in teaching. But upon his return form Europe in 1927, he became
instead a humorist and cartoonist of Judge, Vanity Fair, Liberty, and other national
magazines of the day. This was surprising considering that he had no formal art
training.
Seuss had no children of his own, and was once quoted for saying, “You
have ‘em, I’ll amuse ‘em”(TCLC 106). After his wife Palmer died, he remarried
Audrey Stone and had two daughters, Lea and Lark which widely spread his
imagination. Geisels books have great interest that draws children to read them,
even on their own.
Along with the great, animal-based characters, the Seuss also used a wide
array of words, referred to as “a facile sort of knock-about word play”(TCLC 106).
These sometimes non-existent words he refers to as “logical insanity”(106).
Geisel’s famous stories were popular in their time and somehow have found a way
to continue to capture the hearts of young, as well as older readers. Through the
1950s, Geisel wrote a couple of children’s books a year, capped in 1957 by the
publication of How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat. According
to most looked-up-to resources, Suess’s most popular book, The Cat in the Hat,
consists of a cat equipped with a top hat on a rampage in a youngsters house while
his parents are away. In 1957, Suess’s The Cat in the Hat became the prototype for
one of Random House’s best-selling series - Beginner Books. This popular series
combines engaging stories with outrageous illustrations and playful sounds to
teach basic reading skills.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and two Academy Awards,
Seuss was the author and illustrator of 44 children’s books, some of which have
been make into audiocassettes, animated television specials, and videos for
children of all ages. Even after his death in 1991, Dr. Seuss continues to be the
best-selling author of children’s books in the world.
Exploring the previous ideas of any author will tell you a lot about
why he wrote what he did. In Theodore Seuss Geisel’s case, the reader can
understand his love for children. Brilliant, playful, and always respectful of
children, Dr. Seuss charmed his way into the minds of four generations of
youngsters and parents. In the process, he helped kids learn to read.