Reading to your children at an early age (starting when they are infants) and having your children read daily contributes to a number of developmental benefits such as developing language skills, exercising the brain, improving concentration, stretching imagination, and relaxing the body and mind. Some studies show that early reading can lead to higher intelligence later.
Millions of children have learned to read through the creative genius of Dr. Seuss. So it makes sense that the National Education Association (NEA) would choose Dr. Seuss's birthday (March 2) as Read Across America Day, a celebration of literacy to encourage and motivate children to get excited about reading. From coast to coast, schools, libraries, and educational facilities will host celebrations from story times to crafts to reading contests and more!
Many years ago I had the privilege of meeting Audrey Geisel, wife of Dr. Theodore Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss). I learned some fascinating facts about how these beloved children's books began.
With more than 44 books in publication, Dr. Seuss has reached iconic popularity, so you can imagine my surprise when I learned that over 20 publishers rejected his first work, And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street. Right there is the biggest lesson Dr. Seuss can teach children — never give up!
It wasn't until later in his career, after LIFE magazine published an article suggesting that the reason children's reading levels were so low was due to children's books being boring, that his publisher asked Dr. Seuss to write an entertaining book for kids with no more than 250 words. The result is the children's classic The Cat in the Hat.
W ith the instant success of The Cat in the Hat, the same publisher dared Dr. Seuss to write a book with no more than 50 words. Can you guess which book was created? Green Eggs and Ham! On a dare, he wrote this book and it went on to become the #4 best-selling children's book of all time. Incidentally, this children's book is now one of the hottest sales tools used by marketing professionals (but that is a completely different topic)!
So, what is with the crazy hat worn by the Cat in the Hat? When Dr. Seuss suffered from writer's block, he would go into a closet in his home hidden behind a bookcase. In the closet were hundreds of crazy hats. He would sit in the closet wearing a hat (or two) until the words came to him.
Often times his publisher would join him in his creative eccentricity by wearing the hats in the closet waiting for words to come. Friends would gather at his house for parties and be invited to choose a hat to wear for the evening, as Dr. Seuss was known for his sense of humor.
His hobby of collecting hats was the inspiration for another one of his books. A few years ago, 60 of the hundreds of hats owned by Dr. Seuss were featured at an exhibit in New York for the 75th anniversary of... The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.
I found learning about Dr. Seuss inspiring, fascinating, and enlightening, but the most interesting fact that I learned was that Dr. Seuss was scared of children! He never had children of his own and yet he became one of the most influential children's authors of all time. He didn't quite know what they would do next. He once said, "You make them, and I'll amuse them."
