March is a month with many exciting happenings… we “spring” ahead with our clocks as we eagerly await the start of spring (even with a late season snowstorm), leprechaun sightings abound as we notice an abundance of green for St. Patrick’s Day, thoughts turn to basketball with a March Madness bracket, and everyone celebrates the birthday of a beloved children’s author….
March kicked off with all things Seuss by celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Seuss Geisel on March 2nd. Schools across the country held fun reading activities for the day, week, and even the whole month. His wild and wacky characters, vivid illustrations, and catchy rhymes have delighted children and adults for over 70 years! Here are a few facts about Dr. Seuss:
- Seuss is his mother’s maiden name, and actually rhymes with the word voice. He gave up trying to have people pronounce it correctly.
- He is not really a doctor. He added that to his name because his father had hoped he would earn a PhD. He eventually did receive an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth and Princeton.
- His first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was actually rejected by publishers 27 times!
- The Cat in the Hat was written to help young children read. His books made
children’s literature and learning fun. Green Eggs and Ham was written when a friend made a bet with him that he couldn’t write a book with 50 words or less. (He won the bet.) - His books have sold over 200 million copies. One of his more recent books, Oh The Places You’ll Go was originally written for parents to read to their newborn babies, but is actually more popular as a graduation gift for students.
Seussville.com and pbskids.org are some awesome websites to explore and learn more about Dr. Seuss with games and information:
There are also many Pinterest and blog entries with STEM projects associated with Dr. Seuss books. Read the book, then try your hand at a project to learn a little about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math:
We have over 100 types of materials available in the library, including biographies, stories, movies, and music cds for you to check out and enjoy!
So have fun with reading or STEM activities or exploring websites or even trying to write your own rhymes, and remember…..
