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 All About Art
Dr. Seuss Loved Rhyme!
published: March 2007
By Tamar Burris, Contributing Writer
Email Author
Best known as Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. His mother Henrietta had worked in her familys bakery before marriage, and she delighted her son with a song in which she chanted the names of the bakerys pies. Because of this, Dr. Seuss often said it was Henrietta who created his love of rhyme.
A good student who loved both art and jokes, Seuss attended Dartmouth College, where he served as editor of the schools humor magazine. After Dartmouth, he studied at Oxford College in England and decided to become a professional artist.
 In his early career, Seuss worked as a cartoonist, submitting artwork to The Saturday Evening Post and other publications. He was 38 when World War II came about, and while he was against war, Seuss wanted to support his country. Working in Frank Capras division of the U.S. Army, Seuss created a series of training films. These movies were cartoons set to different rhymes, and the soldiers loved them.
Following WWII, Seuss illustrated several books and wrote his first childrens book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. Twenty-seven different publishers rejected the book before it was finally published! But once published, Mulberry was well received, and it gave Seuss the opportunity to write a textbook for young readers. Seuss silly drawings and ability to create fun rhymes with simple words made his textbook, The Cat In the Hat, a hit with kids. With later books like Green Eggs and Ham, Seuss eventually became one of the worlds most beloved childrens authors, writing and illustrating 48 books in total.
By the time of Seuss death on September 24, 1991, about 200 million copies of his books translated into some 15 languages had found their way onto bookshelves around the globe, and more sales continue to this day.
Written by Tamar Burris, a former elementary school teacher who now works as a freelance writer and curriculum developer for PBS, the Discovery Channel and other education-related companies. Sources: White House Kidsville, www.whitehouse.gov/kids/dreamteam/theodorgeisel; Seussville, www.seussville.com; Wikipedia, Dr. Seuss.
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