DR. SEUSS WAS BORN on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. His real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel (GUYS-ell). His parents were Theodor and Henrietta Geisel. He didn't have any brothers or sisters.

DR. SEUSS GREW UP in Springfield. His dad ran a brewery-a factory where beer is made. Later, he became the head of the zoo. The zoo was a favorite place for the young Dr. Seuss. He remembered that he "used to play with the baby lions and the antelope." He was very close to his dad. He loved the times they shared, especially at the zoo. He said that his dad always encouraged him to do his best.

Dr. Seuss's real last name--Geisel-is German. When he was a little boy, the United States was fighting Germany in World War I. Some Americans hated Germans, even Americans with German names, like Geisel. Sometimes young Theodor Geisel would be chased home from school by children. They threw stones at him and called him names.

DR. SEUSS WENT TO SCHOOL at the public schools in Springfield. He loved to read. He could read books for much older readers--like Treasure Island and A Christmas Carol--when he was just six years old. He also loved to draw, but his art teacher in elementary school told him he wasn't very good. He proved how wrong she was.

Geisel went to college at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He studied English. He started to use the name Seuss for the stories he wrote for the college magazine. He also began to illustrate his stories with his own drawings.

DR. SEUSS BECAME AN AUTHOR after working as a writer of ads for magazines. The company he worked for wouldn't let him write for adults, but he could write for kids. So that is what he did.

His first book for children was And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which he wrote in 1937. But he had a hard time finding a publishing company that was interested. Finally, after 29 companies turned it down, it was published. It was a hit!

WHERE DID HE GET THE NAME "DR. SEUSS"? Geisel wrote his books under a "pseudonym" (SOO-doe-nim). That's a name an author chooses to write as, instead of his or her own. The name he chose was "Dr. Seuss." "Seuss" was his middle name and his mother's last name before she got married. Dr. Seuss's books--and his pseudonyms--show how he loved to play with words. He had another pseudonym, "Theodor LeSieg." "LeSieg" is his name--Geisel--spelled backwards.

DR. SEUSS'S STYLE: Everyone who loves Dr. Seuss knows the way his books look and how they sound when they are read out loud. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street set the example for all the others. Dr. Seuss used his heavy, black drawing style for the pictures and a steady rhythm and rhyme pattern for the words. He said he was trying to copy the sound of a boat's clanging engine. In fact, the idea for the book had come to him while he was traveling from Europe to America by boat and heard the ship's noisy engine.

DR. SEUSS AND READING: Dr. Seuss wanted to know what made children want to read. He thought most books written to teach kids to read--like the "Dick and Jane" readers your parents read as children--were boring. So in 1957, Dr. Seuss got a list of words used in early readers, chose 230 of them, and wrote The Cat in the Hat. Children loved it. It was funny and fun to read.

The Cat in the Hat became a favorite book with young readers all over the world. Like most of his books, it has been translated into many other languages.

Seuss's books were award-winners, too. Several of his books won the Caldecott Honor. That's one of the most important awards for children's book illustration. The honor was given to McElligot's Pool, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, and If I Ran the Zoo.

Dr. Seuss married again in 1968. His second wife was Audrey Stone Dimond. She had two daughters from a previous marriage named Lea and Lark, and they became Dr. Seuss's stepdaughters.

Dr. Seuss died on September 24, 1991, at the age of 87. Children and adults all over the world were sad to hear of his death. But they will always remember the man who helped many of them learn to read, and to love reading, too.

Five new books by Dr. Seuss have been published since his death. These include Daisy-Head Mayzie and Gerald McBoing Boing. There's also a traveling exhibit that features imaginary machines from his books. These extraordinary creations--like the Shlumping Borfin--are based on Seuss's illustrations.

Children celebrate Seuss's birthday, March 2, every year in "Read Across America." All over the country, kids read Dr. Seuss favorites with their teachers and librarians. In 2007, young readers--and those that are young at heart--celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Cat in the Hat.

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
The Five Hundred Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
Horton Hatches the Egg
Bartholomew and the Ooblek
If I Ran the Zoo
Horton Hears a Who!
If I Ran the Circus
The Cat in the Hat
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
Green Eggs and Ham
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
The Sneetches and Other Stories
Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book
Dr. Seuss's ABCs
Hop on Pop
Fox in Socks
The Lorax
Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?
Oh Say Can You Say?
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
My Many Colored Days
Daisy-Head Mayzie
Gerald McBoing Boing
A Hatful of Seuss
Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DR. SEUSS:

Write: Random House
1745 Broadway
New York, NY 10019

WORLD WIDE WEB SITES:

http://www.seuss.org
http://www.seussville.com