Seusstastic!

Today is March 2nd – which means, as any child currently in kindergarten or first grade can tell you, today is Dr. Seuss’s birthday! It’s also Read Across America Day – which means go read whatever you want (thank goodness), even if it’s not Dr. Seuss! Because reading is awesome; we all know that.

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.

~ Dr. Seuss

Now, I would guess that most people know who Dr. Seuss is. If you don’t, here’s a very high-level overview of the man whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel: he was born in Springfield, MA, in 1904; he was married twice and never did have any children of his own. [Sort of odd, to think that someone who’s pen name is so thoroughly linked to childhood never actually had kids. I’ve got kids and would struggle to write even a single children’s rhyme.] Mr. Geisel wrote under the name Dr. Seuss and published over 60 books, which have sold hundreds of millions of copies in dozens of languages. He was not a doctor and actually pronounced his name so that it rhymed with “voice” (silly Americans, wanting Seuss to rhyme with “goose”!).

My kids have read their fair share of Dr. Seuss books. Some of them they’ve enjoyed reading, some they didn’t enjoy, and some they preferred to use as chew toys when they were babies and toddlers. They like the movies – we own a few of the animated ones, and we always try to tape “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” when it airs on TV. I even have secret copies of Oh, the Places You’ll Go! and I’m asking my kids’ teachers, from kindergarten to high school, to sign them with a little note; it’ll be a graduation present that I hope they appreciate when they officially go off to start their adult lives.

cover of Dr. Seuss book

They especially like this time of year because they do fun things in class to celebrate Dr. Seuss. The girls pull their hair straight up to look like Cindy Lou Who. They paint pictures of cats wearing tall hats with red and white stripes. Teachers help them write their own poems and count fish and read all sorts of books in class. My kindergartner told me just yesterday that she decided to draw a Thing 1 because “everyone knows Thing 2 gets into trouble and I am NOT going to be in trouble that Thing 2 does”. Consider that your public service announcement for today: Thing 2 is nothing but trouble.

kid art of Thing 1

My daughter’s Thing 1 is hanging from the classroom ceiling, and apparently my kid thinks if Thing 1 comes over they can play with make-up. Not really sure that’s what Thing 1 would be interested in, but not going to burst her bubble.

I, personally, enjoy Dr. Seuss. His books always try to teach something nice – be nice, be brave, be adventurous, be grateful, etc. All of those things are great lessons for kids, who we can only hope will grow up to be good people as adults. Sure, some books are just silly, good, fun books for young children (talking to you, A,B,C and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish). But some books also try to drive home a moral lesson (looking at you, Lorax and Horton Hears a Who).

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

~ Dr. Seuss

So, go out and read a Dr. Seuss book. Introduce your kids to Dr. Seuss books. Maybe watch one of the animated films (which are done much better than the live-action films, in my opinion). Count a few fish, take a walk, make your eggs and ham green, and feel good about reading some pretty solid moral lessons. Or, if Dr. Seuss is not your style (maybe you’re an adult with funky-coloured hair and more than one article of clothing with skulls on it and prefer to listen to what your husband declares is “loud, angry music” . . . . oh, right, that’s me), then go pick something that is your style and spend some time today reading and enjoying a good book.

Actually, with all those morals and life lessons written in, maybe more adults should read some Dr. Seuss books.

Discussion

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