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12 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MARCH 2014 | COMMUNITY NEWS COMMUNITY NEWS | FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MARCH 2014 13 By Bobbie Eckel i thought i had read every book he wrote — i started delving into his biographies and discovered that there was so much more to Theodor geisel than simply delightful creatures and wonderful verse. The more i learned about this fantastic writer, the more fascinated i was with his works. Those of us who were rearing children in the 60s and 70s probably know most of dr. seuss's books by heart — not by intent, just by repetition! Did you know that his early choice of a career was in medicine? Theodor geisel, better known to the world as dr. seuss, did not start out to be a writer of children's verse. he intended to follow the desire of his father and become a doctor. as luck and proclivity would have it, though, he wound up in advertising and writing. (For his efforts, geisel was later awarded two academy awards, two emmy awards, a Peabody award and the Pulitzer Prize.) Theodor, or "Ted" as he preferred, was born on March 2, 1904, and grew up in springfield, Massachusetts, a town with a large german immigrant population. he spoke german at home and english at school. his mother, henrietta seuss geisel, used rhymes from her german childhood to lull her children to sleep at night. Ted and his sister, Marnie, enjoyed playing with both languages. Ted's love of rhymes and strange sounding words as well as his artistic inclinations were encouraged, in spite of the despair of one of his school's art teachers. Did you know why he started using the name seuss? When Ted left springfield to attend dartmouth College, he became editor-in-chief of the Jack-O-Lantern, dartmouth's humor magazine. his tenure as editor was short-lived, however, when he and his friends were caught hosting a drinking party — which was against Prohibition laws and school policy. Ted, however, continued to contribute to the Jack-o-Lantern, but his works were simply signed "seuss," his mother's and his own middle name. Ted went on to oxford university in england after graduation from dartmouth. he soon discovered, however, that he was bored with academics and left oxford to tour europe. Did you know that he became involved with cartoons because he needed to earn a living and writers were not much in demand? When he returned to the united states, Ted started his career as a writer /cartoonist. he published some pieces in the Saturday Evening Post but his bread-and-butter wages were paid by his advertising campaigns for standard oil and his cartoon campaigns for Flit, a pesticide, which featured a weary knight forever fighting insects with the phrase, "Quick henry, the Flit!" With the approach of World War ii, geisel drew political cartoons for PM magazine, a liberal political publication. although he was too old for the draft, he served with Frank Capra's signal Corps making training movies. it was in this milieu that he was introduced to the art of animation and made a series of training films featuring a cartoon character trainee called Private snafu. (interestingly enough, P. d. eastman and Munroe Leaf were also involved in the animated training films. all three men are now well-known authors of children's books.) Ted's first break into children's literature came through his illustrations. his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times before Vanguard Press finally agreed to publish it in 1937. Do you know why he wrote The Cat in the Hat? The defining book of Ted's career, The Cat in the Hat, was the product of a unique joint venture between houghton Mifflin (Vanguard Press) and random house. For this book, Ted was asked to write a children's primer using only 225 new reader vocabulary words. This was a fascinating project for Ted because he felt that children should want to read for fun — not just to learn the morals taught in the "dick and Jane" texts of the day. he wanted children to use their imagination and enjoy playing with words in wonderful, wacky ways. With the success of The Cat in the Hat, dr. seuss became a legend in children's literature. although his later life was not always a happy one, thanks to his friends and medical professionals attempting to stop his smoking habit, Theodor geisel's contributions to children and children's books is historic. Do you know the following facts about Dr. seuss? he never had children — and tended to be uncomfortable around them. he was not a "practical" man, leaving schedules and deadlines to his wives. he was emotionally scarred by the discrimination against german-americans during World War ii. he disliked public appearances and always attempted to avoid them. dr. seuss enjoyed pranks — signing his books occasionally Theo Leseig — which is geisel spelled backward. he adamantly refused to quit smoking — although it was the ultimate source of his demise. Did you know that his books contain strong social beliefs? although his books were seemingly aimed at children, the themes involved were frequently very adult. Ted geisel wrote of the futility of the arms race in The Butter Battle Book. he encouraged children to enjoy reading and pictures in his fight against illiteracy. Many of his books focused on the greed of his imaginary creatures — and the consequences of such feelings. he railed against prejudice in Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories and Horton Hears a Who. once you understand Ted geisel's philosophical positions, you can easily find them spotlighted in his books for children. Do you know why the Dr. seuss books are so popular with children of all ages? if you are not familiar with his stories and cartoons, you need to browse through the children's sections of the public library. Find Green Eggs and Ham. enjoy Horton Hears a Who. read The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Many of his books have been made into videos. you will understand why children are fascinated by the verse and the characters. on this March 2, for all the children — and the grandparents, parents, teachers and friends who read to them — all of whom have enjoyed his words and illustrations over the years — a heartfelt, "Thank you!" and "happy Birthday!" Continued on page 13 Continued from page 12 The home Tours are always fun and have become an anticipated bi-annual event here at Four seasons. our outdoor Living home & garden Tour is tentatively scheduled for saturday, May 17. if you feel your home, garden or yard are above and beyond the norm and you would like to share this with your Four seasons neighbors, please contact tour director Teri diMarino-davidson at k9styler@aol.com or (951) 769-4345. all year long the event systems Committee is busy working behind the scenes repairing audio/visual equipment, setting up the stage for shows or working with the sound equipment. Next time you attend a meeting or event take a look around and see what has gone into making it a more enjoyable experience. all this was done with the help of resident volunteers. The volunteers doing this work would love to add a few new members to the team so if you are interested in lending a hand, please contact roland harrah at rolandthanh@msn.com. We would love to add you to our roster of volunteers! ~ Teri DiMarino-Davidson Event Systems

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