Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for them. Additionally, he was submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty. In some of his works, he'd made reference to an insecticide called Flit. These references gained notice, and led to a contract to draw comic ads for Flit. This association lasted 17 years, gained him national exposure, and coined the catchphrase "Quick, Henry, the Flit!"
In 1936 on the way to a vacation in Europe, listening to the rhythm of the ship's engines, he came up with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly rejected by the first 43 publishers he showed it to. Eventually in 1937 a friend published the book for him, and it went on to at least moderate success.
During World War II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and do documentaries (he won Oscar's for Hitler Lives and Design for Death). He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which also won him an Oscar.
In May of 1954, Life published a report concerning illiteracy among school children. The report said, among other things, that children were having trouble to read because their books were boring. This inspired Geisel's publisher, and prompted him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important, asked him to cut the list to 250 words (the publishers idea of how many words at one time a first grader could absorb), and write a book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him published
The Cat in the Hat
, which went on to instant success.
In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was
Green Eggs and Ham
. Cerf never paid the $50 from the bet.
Helen Palmer Geisel died in 1967. Theodor Geisel married Audrey Stone Diamond in 1968. Theodor Seuss Geisel died 24 September 1991.
Also worked under the pen name:
Theo Le Sieg
“For a host, above all, must be kind to his guests.”
“How true, how true" said the Sour Kangaroo, "And from now on, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm going to protect them with you!"And the Young Kangaroo in her pouch said "Me too!”
“I said, "I do not fear those pants with nobody inside them." I said, and said, and said those words. I said them but I lied them. ”
“Today is your day, your mountain is waiting. So get on your way.”
“Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store.”
“You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.”
“The storm starts, when the drops start droppingWhen the drops stop dropping then the storm starts stopping.”
“My alphabet starts with this letter called yuzz. It s the letter I use to spell yuzz a ma tuzz. You ll be sort of surprised what there is to be found once you go beyond Z and start poking around ”
“Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. Oh! The places you'll go!”
“It's opener, out there, in the wide, open air.”
“Gray day. Everything is gray. I watch. But nothing moves today.”
“All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone is something you'll be quite a lot!”
“Writing simply means no dependent clauses, no dangling things, no flashbacks, and keeping the subject near the predicate. We throw in as many fresh words we can get away with. Simple, short sentences don't always work. You have to do tricks with pacing, alternate long sentences with short, to keep it vital and alive.... Virtually every page is a cliffhanger--you've got to force them to turn it."~”
“Oh, the thinks you can think!”
“When he worked, he really worked. But when he played, he really PLAYED.”
“I know, up on top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.”
“And the turtles, of course...all the turtles are free, as turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.”
“Only you can control your future.”
“Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope.”
“I box in yellow Gox box socks.”
“One fish Two fish Red fish Blue fish!”
“He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.”
“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
“You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.”
“Just tell yourself, Duckie, you're real quite lucky.”
“Oh the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all.”
“It all began with a shoe on the wall. A shoe on the wall shouldn't be there at all.”
“If you'd never been born, then you might be an Isn't!An Isn't has no fun at all. No, he disn't.”
“Look at me!Look at me!Look at me NOW!It is fun to have funBut you have to know how.”
“If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.”
“Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them.”
“There's no limit to how much you'll know, depending how far beyond zebra you go.”
“Poor empty pantsWith nobody inside them.”
“DayPlayWe play all day.NightFightWe fight all night.”
“My uncle ordered popoversfrom the restaurant's bill of fare.And, when they were served,he regarded them with a penetrating stare.Then he spoke great words of wisdomas he sat there on that chair:"To eat these things," said my uncle,"You must exercise great care.You may swallow down what's solid,but you must spit out the air!"And as you partake of the world's bill of fare,that's darned good advice to follow.Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.And be careful what you swallow.”
“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”
“Catch! calls the Once-ler.He lets something fall.It's a Truffula Seed.It's the last one of all!You're in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.Then the Loraxand all of his friendsmay come back.”
“Try them, try them, and you may! Try them and you may, I say.”
“Be grateful you’re not in the forest in FranceWhere the average young person just hasn’t a chanceTo escape from the perilous pants eating plantsBut your pants are safe, you’re a fortunate guyYou ought to be shouting how lucky am I”
“I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one-hundred percent!”
“Being crazy isn't enough.”
“And this mess is so big And so deep and so tall, We cannot pick it up. There is no way at all!”
“Words and pictures are yin and yang. Married, they produce a progeny more interesting than either parent.”
“All those Nupboards in the Cupboards they're good fun to have about. But that Nooth gush on my tooth brush.....Him I could do without.”
“Things may happen and often do to people as brainy and footsy as you”
“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) Kid, you'll move mountains.”
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
“How did it get so late so soon?”
“You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room.”
“A person's a person, no matter how small.”