Dr. Seuss' Birthday and the NEA's Read Across America

A book, a nook, a light, at night, tight rhymes and good times, Dr. Seuss has been a favorite for years with delicious stories and crazy drawings that just somehow make reading fantastic. It's no wonder that kids of all ages celebrate Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss' 104th birthday as the late Theodor Seuss Geisel today. Many elementary schools and homes serve green eggs and ham in honor of a memorable image from one of the good Doctor's books, named for the unique meal which Sam I Am rejected. Read Across America Day is a perfect way to celebrate Dr. Seuss' legacy.

Dr. Seuss' books cross over from a childish, playful world of sounds and nonsense rhymes, to a world of thought and issues, the world that children will explore in their reading for years to come. Drawn in by the universal allure of rhyme and playful nonsense, Dr. Seuss is comparable to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland in the disguised depth of his stories.

In my own experience, Dr. Seuss not only introduced thought into my reading but also introduced playfulness into my thought. Strident tones weren't necessary to teach about social and environmental issues, whimsical allegorical stories such as Horton Hears a Who, now being released as a movie, make points in much more memorable ways. Dr. Seuss' characters stick in my mind as much as any from Greek mythology, his invented words like "grinch" carry their own unique meanings.

Because Dr. Seuss' books are so much more than portrayals of our own reality, they raise question in readers. I remember thinking about the worlds he created, with green eggs and ham, cats unlike any in my house, and tiny people who might just be living their lives on a dust speck in my own room. Dr. Seuss' books fought the trend in my day to teach art that was "accurate," and instructions to not squeak your sneakers on the way outside for recess. If I drew a Dr. Seuss cat, I'm sure I'd be sent back to the drawing board. Yet the good doctor could do it, why not I?

One of the ways I choose the books I treasure is by their timelessness. The characters, like Tom Sawyer, the language, such as Shakespeare's, and the stories, such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, inspire me. Those are the books of the past, though. Dr. Seuss may have been born 104 years ago, but his works still have the light of innovation, and the possibility of new thought, new ideas, and new ways of seeing. If I need to envision the future, I can look to Dr. Seuss' characters and see new traditions, new joyful noises, and new appreciation of the world in which we live.

The National Education Association encourages families to celebrate Read Across America Day to celebrate the gift that writers pass on to us, and to honor the memory of a man who had a unique talent for doing so in a timeless way. Movies made of his films receive rafts of awards in part because they draw actors like Jim Carrey, whose innate creativity thrives in Dr. Seuss' world.

"Read Across America", http://www.nea.org/readacross/index.html

"Dr. Seuss Biography", http://www.nea.org/readacross/resources/seussbiography.html