Dr. Seuss and more

I honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday today, we read What was I scared of? from The Sneetches, and My Many-Colored Days. That second book has words by Dr. Seuss, and pictures by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, in a very un-Seussian style, though I like the illustrations anyway.

The flannelboard rhyme was Willy O'Dwyer Jumped into the Fire, a "don't try this at home" nursery rhyme.  Here are the words:

Willy O'Dwyer jumped into the fire,        
The fire was so hot, he jumped into the pot,
The pot was so wee, he jumped into the sea,
The sea was so big that he jumped on a pig,
The pig was so small that he jumped on a wall,
He got there so soon that he jumped to the moon,
He had so much fun, he jumped to the sun,
The sun was so hot, he jumped back in the pot.
Out of the pot and into the fire,
And that was the end of Willy O'Dwyer.

In my version, Willy O'Dwyer is a leprechaun. I always like to use this rhyme around St. Patrick's Day.
Here he is in his closeup.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

When you think of great American authors, who comes to mind?  Ernest Hemingway, Herman Melville, Willa Cather?  All great writers, no doubt, but for brilliant use of words, long-lasting influence, and sheer number of books sold, no one can hold a candle to Dr. Seuss.

If you are under the age of 75, you grew up reading And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. If you are under 50, you learned to read with The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. No author in America is more widely read than Dr. Seuss. Very few children’s books from the 1930’s, ‘40’s, and ‘50’s are still on library bookshelves, but every library has a shelf-full of Dr. Seuss’s books, and always will.

Today is the 107^th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, born on March 2, 1904. Today is also celebrated as Read Across America Day, in honor of the doctor. He died on September 24, 1991, but his books and his memory live on. So here’s to you, Dr. Seuss:

It’s your Day of all Days! It’s the Best of the Best!

So don’t waste a minute! Hop to it! Get dressed!

Today you are you! That is truer than true!

There is no one alive who is you-er than you!

And though he is gone, there is no one alive like Dr. Seuss. Happy Birthday to you!