How Dr. Seuss and Read Across America day intersect

Success of Seuss

Saturday, March 2, 2019 would have been the 115th birthday of Theodor Geisel also known as Dr. Seuss. By 2015, Dr. Seuss’ books had been translated into 17 languages and had sold 650 million copies in 95 countries.

Above illustration by Kurt Snibbe, Staff

Theodor Geisel was a student at Dartmouth in 1925. He was caught by the dean with gin during Prohibition. In order to continue working at the school’s humor magazine, he adopted a pen name that used his mother’s maiden name, “Seuss.”

Dr. Seuss went on to become an editorial cartoonist during World War II, a film maker, legendary children’s book author and illustrator.

The National Education Association’s Read Across America honors Dr. Seuss’ birthday each year. Since Dr. Seuss’ birthday is on a Saturday this year, the NEA is having Read Across America on Friday, March 1, 2019.

The Read Across America site has information on how to inspire kids to pick up a book and become lifelong readers.

Here is a chronology of Seuss books

Seuss Museum

If you’re in the mood to travel to Springfield Massachusetts and a Dr. Suess fan, there’s a museum and sculpture park worth seeing. The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum is devoted to Springfield native Theodor Geisel.

If you’d like to buy some Dr. Seuss artwork The Art of Dr. Seuss gallery in Chicago might be the place to start looking. The gallery is dedicated to selling paintings and prints by the artist.

Sources: Seussinspringfield.org, UCSD Library, Random House, Box Office Mojo, Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post and NEA

Charles Apple helped compile this report