I’ve been feeling a little nostalgic lately: looking through my books for old favorites, watching movies from my childhood whenever they’re on TV, even listening to songs from the ’90s once in a while. That’s how I recently had an idea for another post on inspiration, because when I think about my childhood, one of the most prominent figures that comes to mind is the author of some of my favorite classics of children’s literature: Dr. Seuss.
Theodor Geisel in 1957
Bio
Name: Theodor Seuss Geisel
Pen Name: Dr. Seuss
Life: Mar. 2, 1904 – Sept. 24, 1991
Gender: male
Nationality: American
Occupation: writer, cartoonist, animator, publisher, artist
Genres: children’s literature
Notable Works: The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who!, Green Eggs and Ham
My Favorite Works: The Cat in the Hat, The Sneetches and Other Stories, Horton Hears a Who!, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Inspiration
Dr. Seuss was a huge part of my childhood. When I was little, my mother signed us up for the Dr. Seuss book club, so we would get one of his books in the mail every month. By the time I started reading on my own, I had a large collection of fun stories to choose from, such as The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who! and Green Eggs and Ham. Because of this, my earliest memories of reading were filled with colorful characters and silly rhymes that kept me entertained for hours on end. If I ever wanted to get lost in books, I could always count on Seuss’s imaginative world.
The main reason I find this author so inspiring is because his stories were an important first step into my love of books. Sometimes I wonder if I would have grown to love reading as much as I do today if I hadn’t had the privilege of enjoying Dr. Seuss’s work at such a young age. His books were very easy to read and understand, and that always made reading such a pleasure. In fact, his rhymes and style of writing were so memorable that to this day, my mom and I can quote lines word for word back to each other. In this way, Seuss gave us the gift of memories that we could share for the rest of our lives.
A Hatful of Seuss: Five Favorite Dr. Seuss Stories
But there was much more to these books than simple rhymes and oddly shaped characters with bizarre names. Dr. Seuss had a talent for embedding important lessons in his stories without making them blatantly obvious or patronizing. Moral issues are cleverly hidden behind tales of strange creatures living in unusual worlds: The Sneetches shows us that racism is unjustified; The Lorax shines light on environmentalism and the dangers of corporate greed to the natural world; How the Grinch Stole Christmas! criticizes the commercialization that the holiday season has suffered over time; and even a story as simple as Green Eggs and Ham can be read as a lesson on trying new things in order to form educated opinions. There was almost always something to learn in Seuss’s books, and because the lessons were presented in such a kid-friendly format (complete with his colorful illustrations), it made his stories that much more accessible to children just starting to discover the world around them.
There are quite a few authors I associate with my childhood, but Dr. Seuss is by far one of my favorites. His books inspired me to continue reading beyond the beginner level, and the lessons in his stories have stayed with me into my adult years. Even now, I can’t help but smile as I think about how I once knew The Sneetches by heart and how I still enjoy reading Horton Hears a Who! out loud once in a while. Though authors like Roald Dahl and J.K. Rowling were great inspirations for my writing, Dr. Seuss was a great inspiration for my reading, and in my opinion, there’s no greater gift that a writer can give to children. To the little girl still in my heart, Dr. Seuss will always be a hero.
My absolute favorite! I would include Horton Hatches the Egg in my favorite list.
That’s a good book too! In fact, I read it again the other day! Love Dr. Seuss! Thanks for reading! 🙂
Great point about reading being a great gift to children. I loved Dr. Seuss as a kid too. Particularly Green Eggs and Ham.
Green Eggs and Ham is great! I loved reading that one over and over. I’ve always thought that authors who can make children thoroughly enjoy reading are among the greatest writers in the world! 🙂
This was sweet and a wonderful tribute to Dr. Seuss! My boys are reading his books now and it’s so awesome to see them enjoying them. Brings back memories. 🙂
How sweet! It’s always a joy to go back and read Dr. Seuss’s books! Glad to know your boys are enjoying them! Thanks for reading! 🙂
Oh how I love Dr Seuss. The kids’ playroom is an ode to Seuss characters, and I can recite so many of them by heart! I love Fox in Socks. It doesn’t necessarily have a moral, but it’s just so much fun. Except for Bim and Ben! They get me every time, dagnammit.
I love reciting Dr. Seuss! I have memories of quoting Green Eggs and Ham by heart; it was so fun to think of all the places he would not eat them. The Zax was also an easy story to memorize, since it was so short. Thanks for reading! 🙂
I cannot tell you how much I love reading all of Dr Seuss to my three year old boy. He especially loves the “Cat in the Hat Comes Back”. We were recently given the movie the cat in the Hat… Oh my goodness it was disgusting, terrible, so not suitable for a three year old. I was so disappointed I can not understand why they had to change such a great and perfect story, so we will of course be sticking to the much better medium of books.
How sweet! My mother and I used to read “The Cat in the Hat” together when I was about your son’s age. It was one of my favorites! Of course, I can imagine the movie wasn’t nearly as good; just the trailer looked awful, and that’s why we never bothered watching it. Good thing we didn’t, since we heard later that it was terrible. In my opinion, the best Dr. Seuss film adaptations are the animated ones (I especially liked “Horton Hears a Who”); you just can’t stay true to the essence of his stories with live actors playing the roles! 😛