If your book was turned down 27 times, “what would you do?”
If you were Theodor S. Geisel, get a friend to publish the book. Thus was born Dr. Seuss. Actually born on this date, March 2, 1904, Theodore Seuss Geisel first turned his knack for words and pictures to advertising and editorial cartoons. But Dr. Seuss influenced entire generations of children with his nonsensical poems that put “See Spot run” on the endangered species list.
So what do you know about Seuss? Heaven Save Us/Try this quick quiz.
1. Inspired by the rhythmic sound of an ocean liner’s engine, what was Seuss’s first book?
2. Which Seuss classic used just 225 words?
3. Boris Karloff once made his voice rather scary/But in a remake, he was played by Jim Carey. Who is he?
4. Here is a clue/that may surprise you/What did Seuss do/in the War known as Two?
Dr. Seuss died on September 24, 1991. (New York Times obituary)
Here is a link to the informative and whimsical Dr. Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden in his birthplace, Springfield, Mass.
Answers
1. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. The idea came to Seuss on an ocean cruise.
2. The Cat in the Hat, published in 1957 in response to the 1954 reports of poor reading in America.
3. The Grinch.
4. He drew anti-Nazi and anti-Japanese propaganda cartoons, images sharply at odds with his whimsical drawings for children. They were published in a collection, Dr. Seuss Goes to War (2001).
