Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known by his alter ego Dr. Seuss, was an American writer and cartoonist. He published 44 children’s books, populated with imaginative characters, rhyme and frequent use of trisyllabic meter. His most celebrated books include the best- selling Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Numerous adaptations of his work have been created, including eleven television specials, three feature films, and a Broadway musical.

Ted Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. As a child, his school notebooks often contained drawings of humorous, unusual creatures more than neatly dictated class notes. His doodles and drawings initially led him to work as a cartoonist for magazines and advertisements.

A magazine article entitled “Why Johnny Can’t Read” prompted Geisel to write an imaginative children’s book using only 220 words. The Cat in the Hat became a worldwide phenomenon, and made Ted Geisel the authorative voice of children’s literature. He went on to write and illustrate dozens of children’s books that have been translated into more than 15 different languages that grace the homes of children (and their parents) around the world.

Through his art and verse, Dr. Suess encourages us all to think outside the box, participate in community and do what we can to make the world a better place. The excerpt below is from his final book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go, published in 1990:

Congratulations! Today is your day.

You’re off to Great Places!

You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

So... be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea,

You’re off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!