Dr. Seuss
Born in 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, is perhaps one of the most beloved children’s authors of the twentieth century. Although he is most famous as an author of children’s books, Geisel was also a political cartoonist, advertisement designer, and film director. He used the power of imagination to produce unforgettable children’s books and helped solve the problem of illiteracy among America’s children. By using his experiences in life as a foundation for most of his books, Theodor Geisel was able to shape the character of many of his readers, as well as teach children subliminal messages through a unique writing style that incorporated various elements and techniques. Through a few of his books,
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Seuss was still able to make reading fun and enjoyable to children. Along the lines of his illustrations, Theodor Geisel was among the first authors to put illustrations equal with text, enabling his readers to follow the action and the story simultaneously. True to his eccentric character and unique perspective, Seuss basically drew things as he saw them. Surprisingly, he had strict guidelines on how to write children's books. There was only one illustration per page and nothing could describe anything pictured. That way, children can work out the story from the illustrations. In addition, his characters are unique. Although his characters may seem simplistic, Seuss' illustrations are inimitable. Through his drawings, word selection, and rhythm, Seuss created subliminal messages for his readers. Yertle the Turtle, written by Ted Geisel in 1958, illustrates one of Seuss’s hidden messages: relationships with other people. About a population of turtles, this unique allegory describes the relationship between a fascist king turtle and his turtle subjects. As king of a small pond, Yertle wishes to have a throne built out of turtles which is high enough for him to see and rule over all the land. Dr. Seuss writes, “with this stone for a throne, I look down on my pond/But I cannot look down on the places beyond” (Seuss). Mack, a little turtle at the bottom of the pole, complains, “I know, up on top you are seeing
their current projects." Publishers Weekly 23 Feb. 1990: 126+. Biography in Context. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.
Through the years, many parents have read the children's book The Cat in the Hat to their kids. Written by Theodore Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat is a lively and wonderful book to read to children. No only that, but also it helps teach children about right and wrong through fun and exciting characters. But many kids and parents alike are missing a piece of the puzzle. Not only is The Cat in the Hat a fun-to-read children's book, but it is also a play on the Freudian psyche.
“ I do not like green eggs and ham I do not like them Sam-I-Am.” These famous words not only started my childhood but many children’s childhood. Theodore Seuss Geisel or most commonly known as Dr. Seuss was born on March 2, 1994 and from there the world was changed. Theodore Geisel is a charismatic man who put his lively personality into his fun and lighthearted books like Green Eggs and Ham, The classic Cat in the Hat, and the iconic How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
“As a young bot Theodor began drawing many pictures. He was always drawing strange-looking people and animals on his school books.” (Wheeler 6) His father would take him to the local park and zoo, where he loved to go and sketch pictures of all the animals. His mother would sing and read stories to him and his older sister Marnie. As he grew older his imagination continued to grow and he continued to draw and create stories.
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.”(Dr. Seuss, the Lorax) The childhood of thousands of adults and children alike were all made memorable because of one man. Theodor Seuss Geisel. His use of words and depictions, although with hidden messages, of daily life has molded the imagination of every child.
Moreover, claims have been made that links this connection. With deeper research, in the content and the time frame of the publications, do we find that Seuss is writing with the importance placed on the adult reading to their child, or the child themselves? If the hierarchy is placed on the adult, how does the creative means Seuss is using to deliver his thoughts on politics effect the way the adult may see their own political views? Much like how celebrity endorsements may sway ones views. To further research this concern, research into stories such as Yertle the Turtle, The Lorax, and Horton Hears a Who will be made.
Branded as Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel and his many works are beloved by children and adults alike. His creations such as The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! turned him into today’s superstar author for beginning readers (Pascal, 2011). Dr. Seuss is notorious for his wacky words and rhyming rhythms, but often forgotten for his work in the political world. He has received many honors in his lifetime, including the Laura Ingles Wilder Award (Elementary Children’s Literature). He also has an award, the Geisel Award, created in his honor for beginning readers books (ALSC, 2016).
“The main art of storytelling is knowing arouse emotion, and that the child is attracted by the narrative details or illustration” (Davim 4668). (This quote could be used in this paragraph and/or my one about illustrations). When a narrator tells a story to children they should be engaging in order to catch their attention and draw them into the story rather than away. “The picture book genre is filled with the musical attributes of poetic prose and poetry” (Heald 230). By Dr. Seuss writing in this style it keeps readers focused and also introduces them to a new style of writing.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and each piece of artwork has its own unique story to tell. The smallest change in style can lead to the picture setting a completely different tone, which is true whether the painting hangs in a museum or illustrates a children’s book. Illustrations in books draw the attention of younger readers. However, illustrations are not limited to the bright and lighthearted picture books such as the Dr. Seuss creations. Pictures in young adult novels enhance the meaning behind words, allowing the reader to have a better understanding of the story.
She was the one who saw his love for drawing and writing (1992, p. 671). She thought that he should not become a professor but something more, a writer. Helen encouraged Seuss to pursue his dreams of being an illustrator and writer. If it were not for her, we may not of known of the courageous man we know today. One main theme that comes up in his books is to be yourself, and be true of who you
He once said in a Los Angeles Times article from 1960, that the writer of a children's book should “talk, not down to them as kiddies, but talk to them clearly and honestly as equals.” Many of Dr. Seuss’s books had involvement with educating the children about the misuse of power. By doing this, Seuss’s children's books were unlike any other at the time, putting it in a
Seuss was a morally sound man he loved to bring joy to childern and poking a little fun at his own government.The biggest reason he became famous was the fact he did not want to conform to just black and white pages he wanted to be colorful to match his style of writing,Geisel was also a man that believed in a deeper meaning he could make up words and get away with it because he defined them with great Dr.Seuss was an extreme amount of sensory detail.the man created great morals in his stories helped young kids become more comprehensive to strange outlandish sayings and taught kids it is okay to stand out;Theodore Geisel was a transcendentalist inspired author.
Have you ever thought about going from studying microscopic creatures to writing world renowned works of literature was something anyone could do in one lifetime? What about writing 44 books that inspire children all over the world? Consequently, this is exactly what Charles Rutledge (more commonly known as Lewis Carroll) and Theodore Geisel (a.k.a. Dr.Seuss) did. While they were both very successful and shared some of the same characteristics such as using made up words they had immensely different writing styles, use of the various connotations of words, and creation of the mood.
“Dr. Seuss was probably the best loved and certainly the best-selling children’s book writer of all times.” said New York Times Book Review. Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. His mother’s name was Henritta Seuss Geisel and she loved to read to him and his sister, Marnie. As a result, Ted got his love of reading and repartee from her. Ted’s father was also named Theodor Seuss Geisel. His father helped him become more involved with machines and he made weird gadgets in his shop. One gadget actually made arms more muscular.
The illustrations in The Cat in the Hat really show the story and even if this book was a wordless picture book then children could understand what is going on. I think that goes to show how much the illustrations really do enforce the text. On the very first page, Dr. Seuss establishes the setting with a picture of a house and one can assume that is where the story takes place (Seuss 1). Dr. Seuss uses a lot of visual elements such as lines to show movement and he only uses shades of blue and red to add color to his book. Something else that I found interesting was the fact that he used the seam in the book as a corner in the house. On the first page, you see the house with a window on its side but no door which would presumably be on the left side of the house where the stairs are. When you open to the second page, you see the children sitting at the window. On pages five and six you finally see the door appear on a separate page than the window. If you close the book slightly you can imagine this is a 3-D element to the book. I may be overthinking it but I think that if this was intentional then Dr. Seuss may have been smarter than people give him credit for.