Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Theodor Seuss Geisel – better known to the world as Dr. Seuss – was born March 2, 1904. To say that Geisel has had a powerful influence on generations of children – many of us now adults – is a vast understatement.

For me, and I imagine for many parents, it’s wonderful to be able to read to my son the same Dr. Seuss books I loved as a child. He loves them so much that I have a handful of them memorized so I can tell him those stories when we don’t have the books with us. Having his lyric words in my head whenever I need them has been a gift to me, too. I catch myself reciting them even without my son around and feel better for it.

Of my 34 years on this earth, I’ve spent about 21 of them in school of some sort. My favorite teacher was my high school English instructor, Dr. Jon Miller. At our Christmas semi-formal dances he read the Grinch. I first heard him read it 18 years ago, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. Imagine all these high school kids in ties, slacks, and dresses sitting around in a big circle for storytime.

He does a reading of the Grinch for the alumni every holiday, and we’ve taken our son the past two years to hear him. That’s been real gift to us. I hope when he retires, probably sometime in the next few years, that he realizes what a profound effect he’s had on now two generations of people.

If you’ve read out the Dr. Seuss collection at your library or bookstore and are looking for some books from another author to try out, your first stop should be Sandra Boynton. Her books are absolutely brilliant. Don’t just take my word for it. My son is serious about having Dr. Seuss and Sandra Boynton books with us everywhere we go. That should tell you something right there. His favorite right now is Barnyard Dance. If you have kids, run don’t walk and go get some of her books.