Friday, March 2, 2012

Seussing IT!!

Right Foot, Right Foot, Left Foot, Too!

Yeah, that's not it. But I thought I'd take a stab at Dr.-Seussing it.

Could any writer have been as ingenious as Dr. Seuss? Check out the images these photos conjure.
This is one of my favorites! It makes
me think of food and traveling to
unknown places.
And this one. Talk about what young
mind can do with these images.
His wit and candor were refreshing, and continue to be today. Whether you're a picture book writer or not, you have to admit he had something special going on. We can all learn lessons from his example.

His ability to delve into the exciting imagination of childhood has always fascinated and inspired me. He captured the freedom of being a child in each of his stories, but challenged young minds to explore, think, and build their own imaginations. What an amazing feat he pulled off with his work. I dream of inspiring the youngest minds like he did with my picture books.

The first way for me to do that is to free my mind and as he said so eloquently,
"Today, you are you. That is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you."
And he captured the essence of that statement in each of his works. He put spices of HIMSELF in his stories. That's what made him unique.
So today, in honor of his birthday, read one of his books. Read it to a young child or simply read it for yourself, letting the veil of childhood take over. 


Share your favorite Seuss book!! 

25 comments:

  1. My school used to make a really big deal over Seuss Day every year. But sadly, the overwhelming importance of the state test -- which takes place in 2 weeks and determines whether or not we get our state funding money -- has made us unwilling to lose a day of instruction. My school now celebrates Seuss Day in June.

    Another casualty of No Child Left Behind.

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    1. Grrr...you already know how I feel about that one, Dianne.

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  2. I've always been a Dr. Seuss fan! That's one of my favorite quotes from his Happy Birthday book. Two of my favorite Dr. Seuss books are On Beyond Zebra! (naturally) and The 500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins.

    "So you see! There's no end to the things you might know, depending how far beyond Zebra you go!" ~Dr. Seuss

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  3. I don't know if I've seen many books like Dr. Seuss. One of my girls are born on his birthday though and we read one of his books. My favorite is Green Eggs and Ham.

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  4. Love Dr. Seuss! Love sharing his worlds and stories with my kids and love how he STILL helps so many children learn to read.

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  5. When I was teaching we made a huge production of this day. Read Across America! We have hot cocoa and goodies while we read books. We even had older students come read like a story time. The kids loved it and they were 8th graders. You're never to old to be read to, especially when it's a Dr. Seuss book!

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  6. Even though my kids have moved past the picture book stage *sob*, we still have his books. Some which I still struggle to read out loud.

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  7. "Anything by Seuss is good." - Maurice Sendak

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  8. I love Dr. Seuss! I read a couple of his fine books last night. To my kids. :)

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  9. I love Dr. Seuss too! They were my favorite read-alouds when my kids were young. I enjoyed them as much as the kids did. One of my favorites was his poem "Too Many Daves."

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  10. As a kid I liked Fox in Socks, but these days "The Places You'll Go" strikes a chord best.

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  11. I don't know anyone who hasn't read his books!

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  12. He's the greatest! We love him in this house. Reading his books aloud has always been a tradition. I love what you said about him putting spices of himself in his stories. That made me smile.

    Did you hear about Jan Berenstain dying?

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  13. From one doc to another, Happy Birthday Dr Seuss!

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  14. My Japanese History professor at UMass Amherst, Richard Minear, is America's #1 expert on Dr. Seuss. I'd encourage everyone to check out some of the books he's written on Dr. Seuss, and not just because he was one of my favorite professors! My primary rabbi and rebbetzin also love Dr. Seuss, and they have a ton of books in their house that all their kids love reading. My rabbi has even given speeches and classes on how some of Dr. Seuss's themes and books tie into Jewish values and concepts.

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    1. Sounds fascinating, Carrie-Anne! Thanks for stopping by.

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  15. Ah!!! Dr Suess! I'm in love with him.
    Random Fact: New(ish) copies of The Lorax are missing a line. "I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie." The line was taken out after the lake was cleaned up.

    Thanks for sharing the birth-day. I really needed to know that!

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  16. Yay!!! I LOVE Dr. Suess!

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  17. My kids have been reading Dr. Seuss all week since they've been talking about Seuss at school. I had fun in my kindergarten class as well with Seuss activities. His books will always be treasures.

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  18. HORTON HEARS A WHO is my favorite now but CAT IN THE HAT was my favorite when I was little. How cool is it you know it's his birthday!

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  19. I teach 3-year-olds in Head Start, so my favorite ones are the short, snappy type that make my students laugh. The Foot Book is definitely one that fits the bill!
    erica

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  20. Great post!
    When I was young and started reading these books, I was I thought they were fantastic. When I was a little older and could truly appreciate the illustrations, I was AMAZED! I still love looking at them.

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  21. Where Is My Mother? is one of my favorite Dr. Suess books. I read it to my daughter so many times when she was little. :)

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  22. I read IF I RAN THE CIRCUS at my kids' school on Friday. I think that's one of my favorites, even though it's long. I love all the things the mc makes Mr. Sneelock do! Seuss was amazing.

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