Theodor Seuss Giesel wrote a number of books for children, which are also admired by adults alike. They are instantly recognisable through their rhyming text and peculiar cartoon characters. Three of his books have been adapted into film.
Early Life
Geisel was born in Massachusetts, the son of German immigrants. His father was a parks superintendent of Forest Park, a large park that included a zoo. He attended Dartmouth College and soon started contributing to the college humour magazine called the Dartmouth Jack O’Lantern. He was made to resign from the editor in chief duty when he was caught breaking prohibition laws by hosting a drinks party. It was at this time he started sign his work Seuss, so that he could continue with his work.
Geisel never obtained his doctorate at Oxford, despite his intention too. Instead, he met and married his first wife, Helen Palmer Giesel and emigrated to the United States. In honour of his father’s wishes for an Oxford degree, he adopted the ‘Dr’ to his pen name.
His humorous articles and illustrations were published in many notable publications of the time, including , Judge, The Saturday Evening Post, Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty
Style and Publications
It was a journey on an ocean voyage that inspired Geisell first experiments with poetry and led to his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
During the Second World War, Geisel turned his attention to politics and his cartoons reflected his views. He drew in excess of 400 cartoons in 24 months for the New Your City daily newspaper. These would be later published as Dr.Seuss Goes to War.
Geisel returned to producing publications for children after the war which are said to be amongst his finest works. These included:
- If I Ran the Zoo (1950)
- Scramble Eggs Super! (1953)
- On Beyond Zebra! (1955)
- How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1957)
His most famous work however, The Cat in the Hat, was inspired following a report on illiteracy among children. The research determined that children were bored with books. His publisher challenged him to produce a book using only 250 words from a list of 400. It took him nine months to complete and it was an instant success. He kept much of the style of his earlier books, but its simple use of vocabulary ensured its appropriateness for beginner readers. He continued to use this style in addition to his earlier methods throughout his career.
Later Life
Geisel and his wife moved to California after the war, but never had any family of their own. He is reported to have said that he didn’t think he would make a good father. However, he always had time for children and would spend hours on trick or treat night signing copies of his publications and asking the young visitors to read sections aloud.
His first wife committed suicide following a very difficult illness and Geisel married for a second time a year later.
Geisel died at the age of 87 following a long illness over many years. His second wife died the same year. He had devoted his life to writing for children and found one method of encouraging them to read. A Memorial Sculpture Park was opened in 2002 in honour of ‘Dr Seuss’ where many of his characters can be enjoyed today.
References
Online Sources including Wikimedia and Britannica Encylopedia
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