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Dr. Seuss

by Jill Faran, Jill Foran
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Synopsis

A biography of American author Dr. Seuss, whose first published book was "And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street," plus a chapter of creative writing tips.

Marilyn Courtot - Children's Literature

Most of us have been exposed to the books written by Dr. Seuss—a.k.a. Theodore Seuss Geisel or Ted, but we may not know much about his life and how hard he worked to get his first book published. Foran gives young reader a glimpse into the life and work of Dr. Seuss. Including how his first story And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street was turned down by thirty publishers. Ted was a very bright young man who just didn't know what he wanted to do in life. He loved writing and drawing, but it did not seem like it would be a way to make a living. His time in advertising did lead to success and eventually his children's books lead to a rich and fulfilling life. In 1984 Theodore Seuss Geisel won a Pulitzer Prize for his great contribution to children's literature. His books are still in print and his birthday is celebrated with great fan fare and is part of NEA's Read Across America program. In addition to learning about this great author, kids learn about the writing and publishing process and how difficult it is to get a book published. His most popular books are featured on the end pages with good summaries, but not enough to keep anyone from reading and enjoying the books. I was happy to see my personal favorite, Horton Hatches the Egg, among those featured. The concluding sections offer creative writing tips, web sites, a quiz, writing terms, glossary and index. A delightful book about an American icon in children's literature, and one that kids and adults will enjoy reading. 2003, Weigl Publications, Ages 7 up.

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Editorials

Children's Literature

Most of us have been exposed to the books written by Dr. Seuss—a.k.a. Theodore Seuss Geisel or Ted, but we may not know much about his life and how hard he worked to get his first book published. Foran gives young reader a glimpse into the life and work of Dr. Seuss. Including how his first story And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street was turned down by thirty publishers. Ted was a very bright young man who just didn't know what he wanted to do in life. He loved writing and drawing, but it did not seem like it would be a way to make a living. His time in advertising did lead to success and eventually his children's books lead to a rich and fulfilling life. In 1984 Theodore Seuss Geisel won a Pulitzer Prize for his great contribution to children's literature. His books are still in print and his birthday is celebrated with great fan fare and is part of NEA's Read Across America program. In addition to learning about this great author, kids learn about the writing and publishing process and how difficult it is to get a book published. His most popular books are featured on the end pages with good summaries, but not enough to keep anyone from reading and enjoying the books. I was happy to see my personal favorite, Horton Hatches the Egg, among those featured. The concluding sections offer creative writing tips, web sites, a quiz, writing terms, glossary and index. A delightful book about an American icon in children's literature, and one that kids and adults will enjoy reading. 2003, Weigl Publications, Ages 7 up.
—Marilyn Courtot

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-These titles incorporate writing tips and the same spread on writing a biography "review" (in actuality, a book report) into extremely basic introductions to famous writers. The flowchart of the publishing process and the list of writing terms are also repeated in all four titles, but not all of the terms are used within the body of each one. Each double-page chapter includes clear, captioned illustrations, mostly in color. However, many of the pictures are simply filler. For example, Dahl features a full waste basket: "Roald often rewrote his stories many times before he was happy with his work." Seuss shows a photo of three pen tips accompanied by the caption, "Ted decided to start writing books for children when he was about 30 years old." Blume includes a picture of a rolled-up diploma and a graduation cap next to a sentence that tells what high school the writer attended. The caption for the map in Seuss describes Massachusetts as being surrounded by five New England states; Maine is mentioned but is not shown. The series' focus is on using biographies to teach writing. As such, these books might find a use in classrooms, but they're too limited to serve general readers or report writers.-Kathleen Simonetta, Indian Trails Public Library District, Wheeling, IL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Book Details

Published
October 1, 2004
Publisher
Weigl Publishers, Incorporated
Pages
32
Format
Library Binding
ISBN
9781590360286

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