While on a boat trip in 1937 the sounds of the ship’s engines and thoughts of his hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts inspired Theodor Geisel to write the poem which would become his first children’s book.
Geisel shopped the manuscript, originally titled “A Story That No One Can Beat” to a multitude of publishing companies, and was met with rejection after rejection. In all, 27 different publishers passed on Geisel’s first foray into the field that would make him a household name, until Vanguard Press took a chance on the young author and cartoonist.
Vanguard released the manuscript under the title And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, and Geisel’s pseudonym–Dr. Seuss.
Mulberry Street received rave reviews and it was clear Dr. Seuss had found his calling. Seuss would go on to an astonishing career, becoming America’s most beloved children’s author while penning classics like The Lorax, Horton Hears a Who, How The Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham.
Seuss’ works are notable for their, humor, educational value, positive messages, imaginative illustrations, ability to engage readers of all ages, intricate meter and rhyme schemes, as well as the staying power those qualities have afforded his books. His immense impact on American children has spanned generations and shows no signs of waning. With each passing year a new crop young readers are exposed to his wonderful writings.
March 2, 2013, the 109th anniversary of his birth, Dr. Seuss Day bookends the National Reading Association’s annual Read Across America Week, which promotes reading for children and young adults with group reading events and activities in cities and towns throughout the United States.
Raising A Reader MA has worked to bridge the gap in early education quality between poor and more socioeconomically privileged students by advocating and enhancing interactive reading with parents and their young children year-round in communities across Massachusetts,
In 2011 Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick designated 24 cities in the Commonwealth “Gateway Cities” where achievement gaps between students with socioeconomic privilege and those without were most stark–Seuss’ hometown of Springfield among them.
The increased attention and funding from the state in conjunction with private sponsorship has allowed Raising A Reader MA to open a new office in Springfield, where Regional Program Director Francia Wisnewski heads our organization’s new efforts. Starting last month, Francia began overseeing the delivery of our red bag book rotation program and parent workshops and other support services to the families of 500 children in Springfield.
Wisnewski began her work in early childhood education in her native Columbia, later moving to the US in the pursuit of her own education, and the advancement of her benevolent occupation. While she was able to access the works of some American children’s authors, she never encountered Dr. Seuss’ body of work until adulthood, and found his writings impactful in a number of ways.
“I wish I knew of the magic of Dr. Seuss’ books when I was growing up in Colombia” she said,” I was so happy to have an opportunity to learn about the fun rhymes, riddles and tongue twists that Dr. Seuss books offer.”
Dr. Seuss rhymes, silly scenarios, fantastical illustrations, and social themes all provide rich opportunities for discussion between children and their parents.
While it is incredibly beneficial to devote an entire day to sharing Dr. Seuss’ writings with the community, year-round access to his stories will go a long way to helping high-risk children develop the reading skills needed to succeed throughout grade school and beyond.
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This post was researched and written by Mike Rambo, Staff Writer for Raising A Reader MA.