"I like 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." ~ Dr. Seuss
Theodore Seuss Geisel (1904-1991), beloved children writer and illustrator Dr. Seuss, was born on this day in Springfield, Massachusetts. A brilliant artist with an outlandish sense of humor, his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was rejected by over 40 publishers.
"A person's a person, no matter how small," he wrote.
The Cat in the Hat (1957) was written from a basic 225 word list. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957) gave us a morality tale with a character whose heart "was two sizes too small."
"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose."
~ Oh, the Places You'll Go!
His 46 books continue to sell millions of copies worldwide. His memorable stories enchant with rhymes that help children hear and learn word similarities. His illustrations spark creative writing and the imagination--almost like looking through the wrong end of the telescope!
Dr. Seuss wrote: "If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good."
A 1984 Pulitzer Prize winner, he once said, "Children want the same things we want. To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained, and delighted."
More DR. SEUSS Quotations
"I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them..."