Dr. Seuss Writing Style

Theodor Seuss Geisel, more famously known by his pen name Dr. Seuss, “was a writer... cartoonist [, and a political illustrator] who had published over 60 books” (Dr. Seuss Biography) in his lifetime and has influenced nearly every American that has ever learned how to read. With children stories that hold deeper insight than most would expect to find in children books to stories that are pure nonsensical like Green Eggs and Ham that came from a bet (Biography). Dr. Seuss’s literary elements in his seemingly innocent works hold deeper meaning behind them and often paralleling to the events that were happening during his lifetime, like his book Yertle the Turtle. Dr. Seuss’s life had lead him into becoming an influential person in many people’s

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss is a children's book about greed and destruction. The book is set in the forest of Truffula Trees. The Once-ler was riding through the country in his wagon one day and discovers the beautiful forest of Truffula Trees.

Seuss was still able to make reading fun and enjoyable to children. Along the lines of his illustrations, Theodor Geisel was among the first authors to put illustrations equal with text, enabling his readers to follow the action and the story simultaneously. True to his eccentric character and unique perspective, Seuss basically drew things as he saw them. Surprisingly, he had strict guidelines on how to write children's books. There was only one illustration per page and nothing could describe anything pictured. That way, children can work out the story from the illustrations. In addition, his characters are unique. Although his characters may seem simplistic, Seuss' illustrations are inimitable. Through his drawings, word selection, and rhythm, Seuss created subliminal messages for his readers.

Furthermore, the illustrations paint a beautiful picture that I like to think is an insight into a child’s mind, which I is a key element in this book and what makes it so great. Since the book is narrated by a child the intentional simplicity of the words and the controlled chaos that is the illustrations breathes unadulterated life into a rather normal children’s book.

“ I do not like green eggs and ham I do not like them Sam-I-Am.” These famous words not only started my childhood but many children’s childhood. Theodore Seuss Geisel or most commonly known as Dr. Seuss was born on March 2, 1994 and from there the world was changed. Theodore Geisel is a charismatic man who put his lively personality into his fun and lighthearted books like Green Eggs and Ham, The classic Cat in the Hat, and the iconic How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

A poet, a teacher, an activist – These are all the things that Theodor Seuss Geisel managed to be. Geisel was born into the German family of Theodor Robert Geisel and Henrietta Seuss Geisel on March 2, 1904. He grew up having pride in his German background, but it all changed to shame after he experienced the torment of living through WWI. Despite the discouraging experiences he had during those times, they were not enough to stop the very talented “Dr. Seuss”. Geisel showed many that there were no boundaries to the imagination. Because of the hardships he had to overcome, the impact he left on young children, and the criticism he received from others, Theodor Seuss Geisel will always be remembered as the

Dr. Seuss is probably the American writer who has so far had the greatest impact on children's literature. The intelligent usage of vivid illustrations, imaginative characters, and catchy rhymes made it easy for people who grew up reading these stories to recognize them. However, although the author worked tirelessly at his craft, he is not well-known since he did not seek after personal fame. Most of the fans to his literary materials are not well conversant with the details of his private life. For instance, most people are not aware that Dr. Seuss was not a doctor, but simply added the prefix to his pseudonym to provide credibility to the menagerie of characters in his works (Thompson 21). He worked as a writer and a cartoonist, publishing nearly more than sixty books. Some of the most famous pieces of his work include “Green Eggs and Ham” and the “The Cat in the Hat.”

Even though Dr. Seuss was voted “least likely to succeed” (“Grahame-Smith” 14) in college he quickly proved everyone wrong. He was widely known for his great books written for children. “Many of his books were initially composed of his sketches”(“Dr. Seuss” St. James). Dr. Seuss successfully wrote and illustrated sixty books for children (“Dr. Seuss” Biography). Dr. Seuss was able to impact the lives of many people with his constant hard work and creativity.

Dr. Seuss I took an unconventional approach in the topic I chose for my reading assignment – whereas most groups selected single novels, my partner and I opted to read a collection of short stories by none other than the notorious Dr. Seuss. Were I writing this essay on a “normal” book, I would be able to pose a question about the book itself and answer it in an ordinary sort of way. However, given the subject matter I have chosen, an essay on an individual book, though possible, would be a very tricky thing to do. It would be wiser, and probably easier, to respond to the man himself. My decision to respond to the man himself makes many more choices – what facet of Dr. Seuss shall I ask myself questions about? I think

that it represents action, possibly in the form of activism. If we can analyze Dr. Seuss’

Dr. Seuss greatly impacted children’s books. He changed the way that children’s books are written and illustrated with his original style. Many people consider Dr. Seuss’s unique style to be one of his greatest achievements (“Contemporary Authors”). Before Dr. Seuss’s books, children’s books were very bland and uncreative. After the release of his books, many authors follow his example when writing their books (“Theodor

Branded as Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel and his many works are beloved by children and adults alike. His creations such as The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! turned him into today’s superstar author for beginning readers (Pascal, 2011). Dr. Seuss is notorious for his wacky words and rhyming rhythms, but often forgotten for his work in the political world. He has received many honors in his lifetime, including the Laura Ingles Wilder Award (Elementary Children’s Literature). He also has an award, the Geisel Award, created in his honor for beginning readers books (ALSC, 2016).

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, is perhaps one of the most beloved children’s authors of the twentieth century. Although he is most famous as an author of children’s books, Geisel was also a political cartoonist, advertisement designer, and film director (Kaplan). He used the power of imagination to produce unforgettable children’s books and helped solve the problem of illiteracy among America’s children. By using his experiences in life as a foundation for most of his books, Theodor Geisel created a unique writing style that incorporated various elements and techniques, enabling his books to appeal to people of all ages.

The illustrations in The Cat in the Hat really show the story and even if this book was a wordless picture book then children could understand what is going on. I think that goes to show how much the illustrations really do enforce the text. On the very first page, Dr. Seuss establishes the setting with a picture of a house and one can assume that is where the story takes place (Seuss 1). Dr. Seuss uses a lot of visual elements such as lines to show movement and he only uses shades of blue and red to add color to his book. Something else that I found interesting was the fact that he used the seam in the book as a corner in the house. On the first page, you see the house with a window on its side but no door which would presumably be on the left side of the house where the stairs are. When you open to the second page, you see the children sitting at the window. On pages five and six you finally see the door appear on a separate page than the window. If you close the book slightly you can imagine this is a 3-D element to the book. I may be overthinking it but I think that if this was intentional then Dr. Seuss may have been smarter than people give him credit for.

As a noted perfectionist, he would work hours on his children's books. He once stated, "The creative process boiled down to two things – time and sweat (qtd. in Krull 39)." His writing style remained unchanged throughout his lifetime; the way he wrote in general was a fill-in-the-blank approach and used whimsical language coupled with artless drawings (Kaplan). In several of his children's books, Geisel adds more and more tension, building up to the climax only to end in an anticlimactic way. For example, in The Cat in the Hat, suspense increases as the mess the Cat makes becomes unmanageable. The illustrations add to this tension as the children's mother is set to arrive. However, just before she enters the door, the mess is cleaned and sparkling new (Hurst). Although his writing style has remained unchanged in his years of writing, Dr. Seuss was still able to make reading fun and enjoyable to children.