Dr. Seuss

by Dana Meachen Rau, Jeanne Clidas

Presents a brief overview of the life of the man who wrote "Green Eggs and Ham" and many other beloved children's books.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Dana Meachen Rau is an author, editor, and illustrator of children's books. She has written more than 100 books for children, many of them nonfiction in subjects including astronomy, history, and geography, as well as numerous biographies. She lives in Burlington, Connecticut, with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Michele Crouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose Rookie Biographies Dr. Seuss. This book took us through the journey of Dr. Seuss from child to his death. Dr Seuss' real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel. He was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. When he was a young boy he had a big imagination and loved to tell stories. He went to Dartmouth College and wrote for the schools magazine. When he finished college he drew cartoons for magazines. In 1936 he wrote his first book while he was on a ship. It was called And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street. When he wrote The Cat In The Hat it changed the way people wrote books for children. Dr Seuss died on September 24, 1991 at 87 years old.

This book is more towards primary. The words are very big on each page so beginning readers can see them and sound them out. The words arnt hard to understand. And also there are pictures on each page to help the reader see examples of Dr. Seuss' books.

The pictures in this book are all photographs. They are actual pictures of his books and people reading his books. This gives the reader a more clear image of what he wrote. The color is very bold. The colors show off his personality in his drawings. His drawings have very curvy and flowy lines to show off his goofy side.

I think this book should be read to children. Its great information about one of children's favorite authors. Its a great way to get children involved in learning about important people. The book isn't long so its also fun to read.

[Christianna Woodling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: Dr. Seuss
Author: Dana Meachen Rau
Genre: Biography
Themes: the life and work of Dr. Seuss
Opening Line: Have you ever heard of the Sneetches or the Grinch?
Summary: This book provides an overview of Theodore Geisel’s life and work. The book makes several connections to his popular Dr. Seuss books.

Professional Review 1:  
CLCD-Leta Tillman (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 16, No. 1)) 
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
“The text is simple and straightforward. Early readers will find interesting facts about one of their most favorite authors.”

Professional Review 2:
CLCD-Marilyn Courtot (Children's Literature) 
http://www.clcd.com.ezaccess.librarie...
“These short "Rookie Biographies" are perfect for emergent readers”

Response to Reviews: I agree with these reviews. I think this is a great book to introduce biographies to early readers. The book is not too wordy and includes lots of pictures that relate to the text to increase comprehension. The book also includes lots of references to popular Dr. Seuss books that children can relate to.

Evaluation of Literary Elements: The tone of the book engaging. Beginning the book with “Have you ever heard of the Sneetches or The Grinch?” Most children have heard of at least one of these and it immediately engages them to the story. The layout of the book is also appropriate for emerging readers. It is still biographical and includes important information about Theodore Geisel, but it is written in a way that is easy for young readers to comprehend. My own critique would be to not include photos in black and white especially on the cover. The cover of the book looks pretty boring and definitely wouldn’t appeal to young readers. A simple change to a color photo would make the book more appealing.

Instructional Application: It is very common for schools to celebrate Dr. Seuss day or week where teachers read lots of Dr. Seuss books and students do related activities. I think this book would be really great to incorporate during this time. Most time is spent on reading his work so a simple biography like this would allow students to learn more about the author of so many of their favorite books. Since this is for early readers I would have students read the book together in partners and answer some brief questions about Dr. Seuss’s life.

[Paige Hirsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. "Dr. Seuss" by Dana Meachen Rau is a biography about the life and story of who Dr.Seuss is. We often read his books to children but it is important to explain who the author is and about their lives. There are facts about Dr. Seuss and the children can learn who he is leading up to his best selling books.

2. I think when doing an author study it is important to include facts about the author. With this text you can pick out the important information and make a chart. Students will be able to remember these facts whenever they read a Dr.Seuss book.

3. I would pair this book with "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr.Seuss.

4. "Dr Seuss' real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel. He was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts."

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early elementary book about Dr. Seuss who wrote many famous children's books.

[Erin Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spring Challenge 2023

[Emily Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second biography book that I chose was a book all about Theodor Seuss Geisel or better known as Dr. Seuss. He attended Dartmouth College where he wrote for the magazine and the school newspaper. After college, he changed his name to Dr. Seuss because he wanted to be more important to people. In 1936, he wrote his first book while he was on a ship. His first book was a rhyming book named And To Think That I Saw It in Mulberry Street. His most famous book, The Cat in the Hat, was written in the 1950s because people thought that children's books were not fun to read. They wanted a more interesting way to teach kids how to read. The Cat in the Hat changed how authors wrote books for children. Children loved reading about the cat and all of his silly antics. Children loved it so much that Dr. Seuss wrote another book called The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. Another one of his famous books, Green Eggs and Ham was written using only fifty words! Dr. Seuss had a wonderful imagination. He made up several words like "oobleck" and "kweet." He also made up different animals and people such as the Lorax, the Grinch, and there is a place called Whoville where the Whos live. Some of his books had deeper meanings as well. For example, The Lorax is about protecting plants and animals. Horton Hears a Who! is about listening to a person's opinions and their thoughts no matter how big or small they are. He even wrote a book for adults called You're Only Old Once! Sadly, that was his last book that he wrote because he passed away in 1991. Many of his books have been made into movies and are as funny and great as the book. This biography is great for readers from the nursery, primary, and intermediate age ranges. It is great for children to read as well as parents to read to their children because it is simple and not that long. There are not too many illustrated pictures in the book. There are actual photographs of Dr. Seuss and his books. There is clear shape to the photographs and some take up the whole page. All of the photos are square and fit perfectly on the square pages of the book. On the left page there is the text about the photo and the right side is the actual photograph which gives the reader an image of the words. This biography is actually from a set of children's biographies called Rookie Biographies. If a child needs to write a book about Dr. Seuss, Amelia Earhart, George Washington, or Pocahontas these books really go into detail about their early lives and how they became famous throughout their lives. This specific book is about thirty pages long and half of those pages are photographs so it is simple but filled with important facts.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is all about Dr. Seuss, the writer many children's books. Dr. Seuss grew up in Massachusetts and eventually went to college in New York. All his life he had a great imagination and he loved drawing. After college he began drawing for different magazines and even drew bugs for a bug repellant. In 1936, Dr. Seuss wrote his first book. Then in the 1950s he wrote The Cat in the Hat which became extremely popular. He ended up writing many more books; most of which are known for their silly words and creative plots. Unfortunately, Dr. Seuss died in 1991 but his books will bring joy to children forever.

The quality of plot was good. It's a biography so there isn't much room for creativity but the facts were clear, concise and definitely interesting.

The age range is definitely primary. The words are simple and there aren't too many on each page. Definitely easy enough for 5-8 yr olds.

There were few artistic elements. There were a few photographs included of Dr. Seuss and his home. Also a couple pictures of his books but besides that there were no illustrations.

I would recommend this book to children who are curious to learn about Dr. Seuss. The facts are not overwhelming. There is just enough information to learn about Dr. Seuss' life.

[Molly Vaughan · Rating 2 out of 5]

An easy to read biography of Dr. Seuss I found in our school library. This is an older biography and the pictures aren't as modern.

[Mrswash]

Dr. Seuss biography is part Rookie Biography series. The physical book is very small, but packs quite a bit of information in it. This biography has pronunciation of unknown words. Photos are nice and clear. After reading the book there is a “words you know” page. There is also an index, and an about author sheet. I like the photos. I did learn that Dr. Suess’s real name is Theodor Seuss Geisel. There are all kinds of Cat-in the hat products, and a balloon float in the parade. Dr. Seuss last book was an adult book called “Your Only Old Once.”

[Chanelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book for an intermediate child. This biography was written specifically for a child. Even though it's for a child, it doesnt leave out any important details. It pinpoints the most important facts and events of Dr. Seuss's life. There are illustration on a whole page, mostly in black and white. Shorts sentences, but some words a child may not know or understand. In the back of the book there are vocabulary words. This is a really good way to teach children about important people.

[Ronda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I paired this one with a Dr. Seuss movie and reading from one of the oh-so-many Dr. Seuss stories. I shared this with all my grade levels--as a review of what's in a biography for my 3-5 graders, and as an intro to biography for my K-2. For my older students, I embellished with snippets from some of the other biographies.

[Alyssa]

Dr. Seuss's real name is Theodore Seuss Geisel and he was born in 1904. He went to Dartmouth College. He drew cartoons for magazines. He wrote his first book in 1936 on a ship. He then continued writing stories like The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. He wrote about protecting plants and animals (The Lorax) and caring for people (Horton Hears a Who!). He died in 1991.

[Anthony the don panson · Rating 5 out of 5]

nothing.........

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great beginning reader series that introduces important people to young kids.

[Turrean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A respectable easy reader bio of Dr. Seuss. Well-suited to young audiences.