About+Dr.+Seuss

__All About Dr. Seuss __ Dr Seuss said, “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells.” media type="custom" key="8517332" align="center"

Did you know that Dr. Seuss was voted least likely to succeed when he was in college?? Boy, were they wrong!! Here's more about this very successful author and artist.

Dr. Seuss was born on March 2nd, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. His real name is Theodor Suess Geisel. He died on September 24th, 1991  of throat cancer. He was 87 years old.

As a young man, he worked for an oil company, writing ads that had cartoon drawings of people. This is what made him start wanting to write and draw. In 1937, on a trip, he was ready to write his first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

In 1954, Dr. Seuss read an article that said children were having trouble learning how to read in schools. The article sayed that the reason was because children found the books boring. This inspired Dr. Seuss to try to write for beginner readers. He took a list of 250 words that schools were teaching kids, and put all of them into one book called The Cat in the Hat. The book was an instant success!

In total, Dr. Seuss has written and illustrated 44 children’s books, has won the Pulitzer Prize and has won 3 Academy Awards. On September 24, 1991, at the age of 87, Theodor Seuss Geisel passed away. Still, his books are still enjoyed by children and adults. (Resource: http://www.chevroncars.com/learn/famous-people/dr-seuss)

Dr. Seuss, was born in 1904 on Howard Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, often soothed her children to sleep by "chanting" rhymes remembered from her youth. He credited his mother with both his ability and desire to create the rhymes for which he became so well known.

The influence of his memories of Springfield can be seen throughout his work. Drawings of Horton the Elephant meandering along streams in the Jungle of Nool, for example, mirror the watercourses in Springfield's Forest Park from the period. The fanciful truck driven by Sylvester McMonkey McBean in // The Sneetches // could well be the Knox tractor that young Dr. Seuss saw on the streets of Springfield. Also, His first children's book, // And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street //, is filled with Springfield imagery, including a look-alike of Mayor Fordis Parker on the reviewing stand, and police officers riding red motorcycles, the traditional color of Springfield's famed Indian Motorcycles. from []

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(This student created History Fair video from YouTube is better for older elementary kids. -meast)