Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Congratulations to Shirley Clark for winning this week's book giveaway!  While this contest is now closed, please come back to SixSeeds for more giveaways for good, family, fun!

At SixSeeds, we believe in the power of a good story.  The books our children are hearing and reading will move, inspire, and sometimes even shape their lives... even young lives. This week, we take a popular kids' book and examine it. Hopefully, the next time you're browsing though a crowded bookstore, our reviews will help you sort through the thousands of titles…  and you can choose wisely!

Title: My Many Colored Days
Author: Dr. Seuss
Illustrators: Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
Publisher: Random House
Age: preschool - 1st grade

Schools are gearing up for the March 2^nd  -- READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY -- while my child is home with a migraine. I call a friend to commiserate.  Since her husband is a physician, I subconsciously hope by association she can help in the diagnosis of my child.  After I get off the phone, I realize she probably does not want to waste time wondering if her child’s headache might actually be meningitis. Instead, she just calls her husband.

Who hasn’t sometimes wished for “a doctor in the house?”

There is one doctor in nearly every home in America . . .

Dr. Seuss.

Theodor Seuss Geisel, who came to be known as Dr. Seuss, was born on March 2, 1904.  His birthday celebration is the catalyst behind the National Education Association’s Read across America Day.  

Dr. Seuss is not only a cherished author; his works have been pivotal in the broader conversation of literacy as well.

In 1954, Life magazine published a report on illiteracy among schoolchildren, suggesting that children were having trouble reading because their books were boring. This problem inspired Geisel's publisher, Bennett Cerf, who asked him to write an entertaining children's book using only 250 words. Nine months later, using only 220 of the words given to him, Geisel submitted The Cat in the Hat, the publication of which brought instant success. Later, Bennett Cerf wagered that Geisel couldn't write a book using 50 words or less, which prompted the all-time Seuss favorite Green Eggs and Ham.

Cerf had the vision to see that Geisel was going to turn the children's book industry upside down, so he and Geisel along with their wives, created Random House's Beginner Books division, one of the most innovative and successful ventures in children's publishing. (excerpt from his biography) 

America’s love affair with Dr. Seuss is not going anywhere. I mean, who can match the cleverness found in his writing?

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..."

 -- Dr. Seuss (Oh, the Places You'll Go!)

"From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!"

-- Dr. Seuss (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish)

"So she flew to her uncle, a doctor named Dake. Whose office was high in a tree by a lake. And she cried, "Uncle Doctor! Oh please do you know of soem kind of pill that will make my tail grow? "Tut tut!" said the doctor. "Such talk! How absurd! Your tail is just right for your kind of a bird."

-- Dr. Seuss (Dr.Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories)

People from all walks of life have something to contribute to the discussion of Dr. Seuss material. Most people have a clear favorite or at least a quote they can pull out at a moment’s notice. This week we have chosen to highlight one of his lesser - known books, My Many Colored Days (my personal favorite), which was published after his death.

Accompanying a manuscript Dr. Seuss wrote in 1973, is a letter outlining his hopes of finding "a great color artist who will not be dominated by me." The late Dr. Seuss saw his original text about feelings and moods as part of the "first book ever to be based on beautiful illustrations and sensational color." The quest for an artist has finally ended--after the manuscript languished for more than two decades--at the paint brushes of husband-and-wife team Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher…

(from Scholastic bio.)

Sometimes color expresses an emotion in a way that nothing else can.  Intuitively Geisel (Seuss) got that and capitalized on it in the writing of My Many Colored Days. Each page portrays a vibrant water color painting in a different color and uses it to simplistically describe a common human emotion.

But when my days are Happy Pink - it’s great to jump and just not think.

Then come my Black Days. MAD. And loud. I howl. I growl at every cloud.

All of the detail, from the water color paintings to the font used to display descriptive words, work uniquely together to cause the reader to feel what lies on the pages of this book.

And it’s definitely not just for the kids.

Kids and adults alike can relate to the description of these days:

Gray Day… Everything is gray.

I watch.

But nothing moves today

Then comes a Yellow Day.

I am a busy, buzzy bee.

Today, was one of those days swirling with color for me just as Seuss describes,

Then comes a Mixed-Up Day.

And wham!

I don’t know who or what I am

Who knows what colors tomorrow will bring?

The Bottom Line:

It’s Dr. Seuss. Can you really go wrong with a book that gets the complexities of life – some days are gray and some days are pink. Need we really say more? Volumes and volumes have been written to say what Seuss said magically in a child’s picture book.

To Enjoy With Your Kids:

There are some fun activities to enjoy with your little ones here.

Leave a comment for a chance to win:

Today, instead of offering you my favorite Dr. Seuss book – let us know your favorite Dr. Seuss book and you can win it (or any Dr. Seuss book of your choice)!!

On one week from publication at noon (EST), we'll pick a name in a random drawing from all eligible entries received and send you an email notification.  

Limit one (1) entry per person; NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington D.C. who are 18 or older as of date of entry