You’re Only Young Once!

Charly Dixon 
Staff Writer 
  Happy birthday to the one and only Theodor Seuss Geisel, who is turning 118 years old on March 2! Geisel, more commonly known as Dr. Seuss had two sisters: the eldest was Margaretha, the youngest was Henrietta, thus making Seuss the second-born. They were born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts. His dad was a superintendent of parks, which included Forest Park Zoo. That is also where Seuss spent a lot of his time. 
  When Seuss began writing books he was 33 years old. He drew his inspiration from his mother and his father, who always encouraged him to pursue drawing; most of his story ideas came from doodles. His first children's book, called And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was about a boy named Marco who imagined a parade of people and vehicles traveling down the imaginary Mulberry Street. The book got rejected 27 times before finally getting published by Vanguard Press in 1937. Seuss wrote 46 other children's books before he died on September 24, 1991. One of his most popular books is Green Eggs and Ham, which was made for a bet. One of Seuss’ publishers challenged him to write a book using no more than 50 different words. With Green Eggs and Ham, Seuss won the bet by using only 49 words; as a bonus, each is only one syllable! 
  Seuss wrote children's books because he was concerned about the lack of literate children. He made sure that pictures were included in the books so little kids, who were unable to read, could enjoy them. After publishing The Cat in the Hat, Seuss started writing more books that were short and illustrated  which he called beginners’ books. 
   Helen had a friend named Audrey Stone who had two kids, so Seuss made the conscious decision to have an affair with Audrey. While this was going on, Helen was sick with cancer; when she found out, she decided to take her own life. Seuss later married Audrey in 1969 and became stepfather to her children. Seuss and Audrey were married for 23 years before Seuss died. After Seuss' death, Audrey was the  executive producer of animated films for a few of Seuss' books including Horton Hears a Who, The Grinch, and The Lorax. 
  Dr. Seuss' books are perfect for all ages, from those who do not know how to read to people who just want to admire the illustrations. Seuss once said, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” He was trying to teach everyone to be themselves and they should not change themselves for others. Thank you, Dr. Seuss, for all the amazing books, characters, and inspiration.

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