History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of Dr. Seuss

*Perfect for ages 7-9
*Includes pictures of Dr. Seuss and some of his characters.

“Nonsense wakes up the brain cells. And it helps develop a sense of humor, which is awfully important in this day and age.” – Dr. Seuss

In Charles River Editors’ History for Kids series, your children can learn about history’s most important people and events in an easy, entertaining, and educational way. Pictures help bring the story to life, and the concise but comprehensive book will keep your kid’s attention all the way to the end.

In the United States, March 2 has been designated “Read Across America Day”, and the date of that commemoration is due to the fact that Ted Geisel was born on that day in 1904. Few Americans are familiar with that name, but as kids everyone comes across the books he wrote under the famous pseudonym Dr. Seuss.

Believing that fantasy “is a necessary ingredient for living”, Geisel was attracted to writing humorous stories from a young age, even as a contributor to Dartmouth’s humor magazine. During the first 30 years of his life, he wrote humorous short stories, articles, and even comic strips for a variety of publications. Occasionally he used his middle name, Seuss, to publish. But it was not until the late 1930s and early 1940s that “Dr. Seuss” truly found his niche as a writer of children’s books.

Initially, readers knew Dr. Seuss as a World War II political cartoonist (if at all), and his first attempt at a children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected over two dozen times by publishers. It was not until the 1950s that Dr. Seuss began publishing some of his most famous and revered titles, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas. In 1954, Houghton Mifflin asked Dr. Seuss to make a book only out of words that 1st graders could read. The result was his seminal The Cat and the Hat, a popular illustrated rhyme book for kids that has remained a bestseller for over 50 years, along with the equally famous Green Eggs and Ham (1960). Dr. Seuss had hit it big, and he continued to write children’s books even as he and his wife steadfastly refused to have children of his own.

History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of Dr. Seuss examines the popular works that everyone remembers, but it also profiles the life, controversies, and legacy of one of America’s iconic authors. Along with pictures, your kids will learn about Dr. Seuss like never before.