Fun Facts About Dr. Seuss

Did you know that March 2nd is Dr. Seuss’s birthday and it is also National Read Across America Day?  Dr. Seuss kicked Dick and Jane out of top spot for children’s readers in the 1950’s.  We can credit him for giving us fun stories for children.  Below are some fun facts about Dr. Seuss. You can {click here} to get a 4 per page version of this image to use at your own house (or to give to your child’s teacher to hand out to all the kids).

Fun Facts About Dr. Seuss

• Dr. Seuss wrote over 60 books.
• He is not really a doctor.
• He had a penname: Theo LeSieg (Which is Geisel backwards)
• Dr. Seuss did not use straight lines in his illustrations.
• His first book, “And to Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street,” was rejected 27 times, but he kept trying!
• There are exactly 50 words in “Green Eggs and Ham“
• Even though Dr. Seuss wrote children’s stories, he never had children of his own.

We teach kids the appropriate, child friendly facts in school.  When we grow up we realize that there is more to the story than we were told in school.  Dr. Seuss is a colorful guy with quite a history.  Below you will find the Adult Version of Fun Facts about Dr. Seuss.   All of these facts can be researched online if you want the sources and the full story.

Fun Facts About Dr. Seuss – The Adult Version

• Dr. Seuss’s real name is Theodore Geisel.  Originally Seuss rhymed with “voice” from the German origin, but he changed it to rhyme with “juice” which resembled Mother Goose.
• Dr. Seuss was caught drinking alcohol in college during prohibition and was forced to resign from his position as editor in chief of the Dartmouth humor magazine Jack-o-Lantern
• He is not a doctor.  He only used the term to make his father happy.
• Theodore Geisel’s first wife committed suicide after struggling with cancer.  At the time her husband of 41 years was having an affair with a woman 18 years younger than him.  After her death, Geisel married his mistress.
• Dr. Seuss is credited to have coined the word “nerd” in his 1950’s book If I Ran the Zoo.
• Before writing children’s book Dr. Seuss created ads for General Electric, Standard Oil, NBC, and others
• Geisel was a Captain in the Army where he was a political cartoonist.
• March 2nd, Dr. Seuss’s birthday, has been adopted as National Read Across America Day
• Dr. Seuss wrote under the psuedonames Teho LeSieg (Geisel backwards) and ….. Rosetta Stone!
• Ted Geisel won the Pulitzer Prize, a Peabody award, two Emmy awards, and two Academy awards.  However, he was never awarded a Caldecott or Newberry medal.
• In 1991 Dr. Seuss dies of jaw cancer in his sleep at his home at the age of 87.

Random facts: Green Eggs and Ham consists of 50 words (that’s it!) while Oh, the Places You’ll Go! sells over 200,000 copies each year (possibly closer to 300,000).

Don’t miss these 5 Tips to Teach Your Child and check out my absolute favorite book that I have used to teach my girls to read, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.

Do you have a favorite Dr. Seuss storybook?  Which one is your favorite?  I bet if you did a little research you might find that it is more political than you ever imagined!

There are many Dr. Seuss movie deals to be found right now!

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