Seuss, << soos >> , Dr. (1904-1991), was the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel, an American writer and illustrator. He was best known for his books for children. These works combine delightful nonsense, humorous drawings, and social commentary. Young readers enjoy Dr. Seuss’s clever rhymes, drawings of fantastic creatures, and silly names and invented words.
Most of Dr. Seuss’s books are written in original comic verse and are illustrated by him. They include The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938), Horton Hears a Who! (1954), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957), The Cat in the Hat (1957), Green Eggs and Ham (1960), Hop on Pop (1963), The Lorax (1971), The Butter Battle Book (1984), and Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (1990).
Dr. Seuss wrote and illustrated You’re Only Old Once! (1986) for adults. His book What Pet Should I Get? was published in 2015. His wife found the text and illustrations for the book soon after his death in 1991, but they were set aside and only rediscovered in 2013. Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum (2019) explores how artists may picture something, like a horse, in many different ways. It is based on a text and some pencil sketches also found after his death. The Australian illustrator Andrew Joyner blended elements of Seuss’s artistic style and his own to illustrate the book.
Geisel was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. He received no formal training in art. He wrote and illustrated his first book to amuse himself. The Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) presented its 1980 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now called the Children’s Literature Legacy Award) to Dr. Seuss for his “substantial and lasting contributions to literature for children.” In 1984, the Pulitzer Prize Board awarded Dr. Seuss a Special Citation “for his contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America’s children and their parents.” He died on Sept. 24, 1991. In 2004, the ALSC established the annual Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished American book for beginning readers, in honor of Dr. Seuss’s ability to help children to read.
