Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday! Theodor (Ted) Geisel was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield Massachusetts. You can read all about him and his work here. Not to mention, the website has all kinds of other fun, too.

Growing up, I adored Dr. Seuss books. I loved their silliness, the way they made me laugh (and stare), the way rules were broken to make up brand new words no one had ever used before, and the way the illustrations made those far-fetched words real. Dr. Seuss opened the doors for me to see beyond what was conventional. For me, reading those books kind of gave me the go-ahead to view the sky as purple with yellow polka dots – instead of blue like it’s “supposed to be” – if I wanted to. Dr. Seuss books were what sparked my love of letters and words – when I realized I could play with them and be creative with them and make them say whatever I wanted them to say – even if it seemed as crazy and fantastic as a purple and yellow polka dotted sky. I read those books over and over again, committing them to memory and even tape recording myself reading them. (Yes, tape recording myself – that was the extent of my technology back then!) I accidentally threw out my only live recording of Mr. Brown can Moo… Can You? and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish just recently, during a move. When I discovered what I’d done, I cried.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! You made this girl fall in love with words! And for that, she'll be forever grateful.