Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904–91,) better known as Dr. Seuss, was an American writer and illustrator. He is celebrated for bringing a whimsical touch and a colorful imagination to the world of children’s books.
Born in Springfield, Massachusetts (1904,) Geisel attended Dartmouth College, but later dropped out of Oxford University’s Lincoln College. After returning to America, he worked as a freelance cartoonist for magazines and advertising agencies, and as a Hollywood writer and animator.
Dr. Seuss’s first children’s book was And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street (1937,) which features a small boy who makes up a tall story about what he sees on the way home from school.
In 1957, Seuss began to write and draw a sequence of “Beginner Books” starting with The Cat in the Hat (1957.) This series used a simple vocabulary purposely to help teach reading—The Cat in the Hat uses just 220 different words and is 1702 words long. It was an extraordinary critical and commercial success, and made Dr. Seuss a household name. Within a year of publication, The Cat in the Hat was selling 12,000 copies a month; within five years, it had sold a million copies.
Dr. Seuss’s other popular children’s books include Horton Hatches the Egg (1940,) Green Eggs and Ham (1960,) and Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (1990.) His books feature a playful way with political or social issues—consumerism, environmentalism, racism, etc. For adults, Dr. Seuss wrote You’re Only Old Once! (1986.)
Some of Dr. Seuss’s books were made into such popular movies as How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) and The Cat in the Hat (2003.)
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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 a telescope… and that enables you to laugh at all of life’s realities.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’)
Topics: Imagination, Fantasy
You know you’re in love when you don’t want to fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’)
Topics: Reality, Love
Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’)
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own.And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’)
Topics: Confidence, Choice
Adults are obsolete children.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’)
Topics: Children, Inner-child
Only you can control your future.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’)
Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’)
Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’)
Topics: Life
So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’)
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’)
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