Dr Seuss

Dr Seuss WebBy BarnabyIntroduction 

The book that I have chosen to read is called “Who was Dr Seuss”.  There may be many other books about Dr Seuss, but this one was available to me at the time.  It is 112 pages long and was published on July 7th, 2011.  The author’s name is Jenet B Pascal and the Illustrator's name is Nancy Harrison.  The genre is a biography and these are some really cool facts about the author Jenet B Pascal.  Did you know that she worked 33 jobs, including working at a juvenile prison!  She of course was an author, but she did have many more jobs during her life.  Isn’t that crazy!   The book itself covers the period from when Dr Seuss was born, all the way through to when he died.  

The reason I chose Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr Seuss) is because I love reading books and Dr Seuss has been one of my favorite authors since I was 7, which is why I chose Dr Seuss as my hero.

Dr Seuss pictureBy BarneyPersonal Facts

Did you know that Dr Seuss was born on March 2nd, 1904, and died on September 24th, 1991, which would make him 87 years old when he died.   He was the only son of Henrietta Seuss Geisel and Theodor Robert Geisel.  He had two sisters, Marnie who was two years older and Henrietta, who was 3.5 years younger.  He grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts and went to Forest Park School and Summer Avenue School.  Later on, he went to college at Dartmouth College, now known as Lincoln college and he left home to go to Dartmouth College at the age of 18.  Dr Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) helped with the war effort by drawing posters and putting them up for the Treasury Department and the war Production Board.  By 1943, he joined the US Army and served in that army for 3 years.     On September 24th, 1991, Theodor Seuss Geisel died of oral cancer and had no biological children, as he and his Wife (Audrey Geisel) did not want kids because they were happy enough without children.  Did you know that when Dr Seuss was growing up, he wanted to become an author and he pursued his goal his whole life?

Dr Seuss enjoyed drawing cartoons, reading comic books and writing funny poems.  Growing up, his father always wanted him to practice medicine and this is the reason why he later added “Dr” to his name, when he became an author.  He always knew he wanted to be an Author.   Have you ever been influenced by your Mother or Father?  Well, Dr Seuss said that the person who influenced him the most ,when he was growing up, was his mother, Henritta Seuss Geisel.

Challenges and Accomplishments

Dr Seuss pictureBy BarneyOne of the biggest challenges Dr Seuss faced in his life was his health.  One day, during a dental visit, Dr Seuss was diagnosed with oral cancer, having found it on his tongue.  He did have surgery to prevent the cancer from spreading, but unfortunately, a few years later, he had a jaw infection which could not be cured.  When Dr Seuss first became an Author he had many challenges to get his first book published. Mulberry Street,  his first book, got rejected 27 times!  After a long time of getting rejected they finally published the book in 1937.  He credits much of his work, especially poetry, to his mother Henrietta.  Before becoming an author, he had a successful career in advertising and one of his ad campaigns was so successful that he continued his work for that company for over 17 years!   Dr Seuss was creative by making new cartoon characters that no one else would normally think of.  He was also brave, because he had to walk up to a publisher and ask if his book could get published and when he served in 

World War II for 3 years.  He was also determined because he got rejected 27 times but he kept on going and did not give up!    Did you know that Dr Seuss’ books help people with dyslexia, read better and easier?  His books are written with such simple words that they can be remembered and repeated, which helps people with dyslexia to read.   In 1951 Theodor Seuss Geisel won the Caldecott medal and in 1982 he was awarded with the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy award for outstanding animated program and in the same year, he was awarded with the Regina medal.

Conclusions and Reflections

After reading my book and finding other facts on google and other websites, I would say that I am slightly disappointed with how he treated his first wife.  For this reason, I’d say that I do not look up to Dr Seuss as a role model.   If I were to meet Dr Seuss I would ask him these 3 questions:-

1. If you could meet any celebrity who would it be?

2. Do you like to go on walks?

3. What is your favorite food?

I wouldn't want to be Theodor Seuss Geisel's child, because I would not want to have a Father who cheated on my Mother.  I am, however, really happy that I chose Dr Seuss because he is a very, very famous author and he's a very interesting man to learn about.  Why would other people like, or not like, this book?   Well, if you are into fiction books, you might not like this book, because it's a non-fiction kind of book.  I learned that Dr Seuss had no biological kids and died on September 24th, 1991.  I also learned that Dr Seuss cheated on his first wife.  Personally, I absolutely loved the book! The reason I loved it so much was because it had some amazing facts about Theodor Seuss Geisel and I think if you’re into biography books you will love this book.  One of the things I loved most about Dr Seuss was that he was humorous and it's important to be around humor, because having a funny time is also a good time.  I would also say that the way he treated his first wife, is not acceptable and I would not want to follow this example in my life.