Celebrate Dr. Seuss Day Every March 2
March 2 is Dr. Seuss Day, in honor of his birthday
For Dr. Seuss Day we can only say:
We all love him
Yes we do.
We all love him
Yes it’s true.
We all love him
Upstairs and down
We all love him
All over town
What’s not to love about a silly goose,
What’s not to love about that crazy Dr. Seuss!
On March 2, 1904 a baby was born who would change children’s books forever. No more boring Dick and Jane. Now it’s cats in hats, whos in Whoville, a fox in sox and colorful fish. That’s right, today we celebrate Dr. Seuss Day.
And the man definitely deserves his own day. Generations of children have now learned to read using his fantastic tales.
Adults and children love his simple but imaginative rhyming stories.
Not only did he show great imagination in creating the tales. They prompt us to use our own imaginations too.
In his 87 years he wrote dozens of children’s books. He left us in 1991, but his books live on.
Fun Facts About Dr. Seuss
You probably already know that Dr. Seuss isn’t his real name. His real name is Theodore Geissel.
What you may not realize is that we’re all pronouncing the name wrong. It’s supposed to rhyme with “voice.” But everybody pronounced it as rhyming with “goose,” so eventually even Dr. Seuss agreed that was the way to say it.
And Geissel is probably pronounced differently from the way you think to. It’s Guy’ sel.
Why did he use the name Dr. Seuss? Seuss was his mother’s maiden name. He began using it after being forced to resign as editor of his college magazine for drinking (this was during Prohibition). In order to keep writing for the magazine, he used the pseudonym “Seuss.” He added the “Dr.” later as something of a joke. His father had wanted him to get a PhD, but he never did.
Dr. Seuss may have invented the word “nerd.” He used it in If I Ran the Zoo, and that’s apparently the first recorded usage of the word.
It took a while for publishers to recognize his genius. He got 27 rejections before his first book, And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street, got published.
He wrote Green Eggs and Ham as a bet. He was challenged to write a book using only 50 words.
He did more than write children’s books. He was also an ad illustrator and a political cartoonist during World War II.
Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this whimsical unofficial holiday.
Celebrating Dr. Seuss Day
Have a Dr. Seuss inspired day!
Have green eggs & ham for breakfast. Here’s a simple recipe that uses a few drops of food coloring to make the eggs green.
Visit Seussville to find games & activities, videos, information about the author and much more. Great for kids and kids at heart.
Read Dr. Seuss books. Check them out at the library or buy yourself … uh, your kids … your very own copy of your favorites.
Watch movies/videos based on Dr. Seuss books. We like the books better, but Seuss in any form is always fun.
Check out any programs your local library or school may be having. In most years, Dr. Seuss Day corresponds to NEA Read Across America Day. So there’s usually lots happening.
Make Dr. Seuss themed crafts.
A few ideas to try:
- “Yertle the Turtle” egg carton turtles
- “Cat in the Hat” hat
- “Cat in the Hat” clothespin craft
- “One fish two fish red fish blue fish” fishbowl
- Dr. Seuss magnets
See how he created Green Eggs and Ham:
More Dr. Seuss Books? Surely Deserve Looks!
That’s right! A new Dr. Seuss book in July 2015 … more than 20 years after his death in 1991.
On February 18, 2015, Random House Children’s Books announced the July 28 publication date for What Pet Should I Get. The publisher says it was probably written between 1958 and 1962.
The brother and sister from One Fish Two fish Red Fish Blue Fish are also in this new book. And yes, it’s illustrated by Dr. Seuss too.
The manuscript for What Pet Should I Get, along with other materials, was discovered in 2013. And there’s apparently enough material for at least two more books.
What fun!
Let’s run!
To take close looks!
At new Seuss books!
(No, we’re not very good at rhyming verse … or any verse, really. But it’s Dr. Seuss! We had to try ;) )
Were you excited to check out the new books? How will you be celebrating Dr. Seuss this year?
Best breakfast is eggs and bacon ! !
[…] Dr. Seuss Day: Celebrate the birth of the great Theodore Geissel, aka Dr. Seuss. You probably learned to read with some of his books. And you may have read them to your kids too. So dig out some Dr. Seuss stories and read them again. It doesn’t matter how old you or your kids are now. These books are just fun! […]