A Tale of Rejections and Inspiration! by Judy L. Murray

Last week while visiting my five-year-old grandson he informed me that he had to choose his favorite book and dress like one of its characters. The following morning, he boos me awake to see him in his costume. Tall bright red felt hat flopping to one side, yellow feathers encircling his neck and wrists, and black shoes. Under his arm is a bright green book with the words Green Eggs and Ham.

“Who are you?” I ask, in my best Cindy Lou Who voice.

“I’m Sam I Am!” He declares proudly.

We writers work diligently to unveil our latest creative stories and dream of influencing the world a bit with joy, hope, excitement, and wisdom brought by way of our characters. It is difficult to name an author who has all these elements in stories more than the famous American author and illustrator Theodor Geisel. Better known by his pen name, Dr. Seuss, was born March 2nd, 1904 and died in 1991.

We should all take heart with his life story. While at Dartmouth College in the early 1920’s he and a couple of friends were caught drinking during Prohibition. He was forced to resign as the illustrator for the school’s magazine. Geisel began signing his work with ‘Seuss’ to continue working under disguise.

In 1927 his first nationally published cartoon appeared in The Saturday Evening Post. He quickly moved into advertising for companies such as Standard Oil, Ford Motor Company, and NBC Radio. His illustrations used for a collection of children's books topped The New York Times non-fiction list in 1931. Encouraged, Geisel wrote and illustrated an ABC book featuring ‘very strange animals’. It failed to interest publishers.

In 1936, he wrote his first children’s book. (Photo credit: Al Ravenna, World Telegram Staff photographer) It was rejected by as many as forty-three publishers. Dejected, he was walking home to burn the manuscript when a chance encounter led to its publication. After working for the Army in World War II, Geisel returned to writing children’s books such as If I Ran the Zoo, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas through Random House and William Collins, Sons.

In 1954, an illiteracy report claimed children were not learning because their books were boring. Houghton Mifflin challenged Geisel to use only 250 key words in his next book. Nine months later, Geisel completed The Cat in the Hat using 236 of the words. He specifically aimed at beginning readers. He gifted us over sixty iconic books for children, although he and his wife never had children of their own. Seven hundred million copies have been sold in over twenty languages. Dr. Seuss passed away in 1991 with dozens of awards and accolades for his contribution to improving literacy around the world. His last book before he died was Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

First-year students at Dartmouth College eat green eggs and ham for breakfast upon arrival. Perhaps I need to start eating green eggs and ham each morning.

Which Dr. Seuss books encouraged you, your children, and your grandchildren to enjoy reading? Do his forty-three rejections inspire you to keep writing?

The Buried Treasure of Dr. Seuss

Librarian tattoos and Cat in the Hat cookies are just two ways I’ll be celebrating Read Across America Day today. Since 1998, the National Education Association has sponsored this countrywide celebration of reading for children and adults. March 2 is also the 111th birthday of Theodor Geisel, the word wizard better known as beloved author Dr. Seuss. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and three Academy Awards, Geisel wrote and illustrated dozens of children's books that are considered classics. Dr. Seuss and his creation, The Cat in the Hat, are the friendly, honorary faces of Read Across America Day.

To celebrate reading, kids will dress in red and white striped Cat in the Hat gear. Actors, athletes, principals, and even the politicians who slash library budgets will read favorites such as Hop on Pop and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to audiences high on Lorax lemonade. The day exists to celebrate reading and to motivate kids to read.

Despite not having children of his own (and the subject of rumors that he did not like or understand children), Seuss’ books nevertheless have captured the imaginations and tickled the funny bones of children for decades. Many parents relish sharing their favorite Seuss book with their children. On the other hand, many parents have confided to me that the Seuss books, with their tongue twisting wordplay and infernally catchy rhythms, are a source of nightmares (for them, not their children). Dr. Seuss is a 50/50 for many parents: you love him or you hate him.

If you are in the 50% that dislikes Dr. Seuss, you won’t be cheered to hear that a new Seuss manuscript has been discovered and is heading to bookstores this summer. Seuss’ widow, Audrey Geisel, discovered papers and sketches that had been set aside years ago by her husband in their La Jolla, CA, home. Random House’s staff and other Seuss experts worked to piece together the unfinished sketches and text into What Pet Should I Get?

The publisher has referred to this discovery as “finding buried treasure,” and if you are in the 50% that loves Dr. Seuss, your excitement is high.

Last year a collection of Seuss stories that had been printed in magazines close to 50 years ago appeared: Horton and the Kwuggebug and More Lost Stories. Since I haven’t had a child actually request Horton and the Kwuggebug nor The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories, another book of lost Seuss stories, I am hoping that What Pet Should I Get? will be more Cat in the Hat caliber and less Bippolo.

One wonders how the good Doctor would feel about the publication of these stories. Were they his novel in the drawer that authors can’t bring themselves to throw away, but know that they don’t want to see the light of day? Will the new book be cause for celebration? We’ll find out in July.

Are you a Seuss fan? If so, what’s your favorite Dr. Seuss story?

Double Dare You

Do you remember when you were a kid and your best friend dared you to kiss a lizard, a frozen light pole, or a boy named Johnny? With your honor on the line you stupidly agreed…and it didn't turn out well. Johnny ran away screaming about girl cooties then gave the other boys on the playground cootie shots. The lizard ran up your arm and got caught in your frizzy hair. Your lips stuck to the pole and your “friend” laughed and snapped a photo.

But can a dare be useful? I never thought so, but I changed my mind after reading that challenges have been the catalyst for an author to break out or begin a career.

Agatha Christie wrote her first book, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, as the result of a challenge from her sister, Madge, who dared her to write a detective story that kept the reader guessing the killer’s identity until the end. Christie accepted the challenge with gusto. Her book featured detective Hercule Poirot who would appear in twenty five more novels. As an aside, Madge also enjoyed making up stories and told tales about a fictional, mentally deranged sister.

Dr. Seuss enjoyed a good challenge.

William Spaulding, director of Houghton Mifflin’s educational division, dared him to “write a story that first-graders can’t put down.” He wanted it to contain only 225 words selected from a first grader’s vocabulary list.

Ultimately, Dr. Seuss used 236 unique words and it took him nine months to write what became The Cat in the Hat. The story was supposed to be about a king and queen cat but “queen” wasn’t on the acceptable word list. “Hat” was, and it rhymed with cat, so he made a story out of it.

Another challenge was issued by his editor, Bennett Cerf. He bet one dollar per word that Dr. Seuss couldn’t write a book using fifty unique words or fewer. Green Eggs and Ham resulted from that wager. According to some sources Seuss won the bet, but Cerf never paid up. Since the book was a best-seller he probably didn’t need the $50.

When Stephen King first began writing, his short stories were published in risqué centerfold magazines such as Cavalier. This earned him a reputation as a writer just for men and criticism from readers. “You write all those macho things,” one said. “But you can’t write about women. You’re scared of women.”

King took it as a challenge and Carrie was born.

Why were these dares successful? I’m not entirely sure, but they have a few things in common:

-          A highly regarded person (in King’s case a reader) issued the challenge/bet.

-          The author was held accountable for the end product and might have been ridiculed if it was bad.

-          The dare encompassed specific parameters or goals for what would be considered successful.

-          Each author had a problem to solve. My guess is the subconscious mind was constantly working to find a solution.

-          It wasn’t a competition. The writer didn’t compare her/himself with anyone else.

So, I double dare you to write one sentence of that scene, book, or short story that you have been procrastinating because it’s scary or overwhelming. Even though I can’t pay you, success is its own reward.

Has someone ever dared you to do something?

And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street

I love Dr. Seuss! He is one of my favorite authors. True, I don’t read his work often anymore, although I still have some of his books on the bottom shelf with other children’s books that I can’t let go.

I read Dr. Seuss books to my children when they were young so many years ago; The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Oh, The Places You’ll Go, Fox in Socks, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and many other books of his. And then I read them to my grandchildren and recently to a great-granddaughter.

 

Theodor Seuss Geisel, known to the world as Dr. Seuss, was born in 1904 in Springfield, Mass.His father and grandfather were brewmasters. His mother used to chant rhymes she remembered from her youth (I’m thinking maybe nursery rhymes) to her children when she put them to bed. Ted credited his mother with his ability and desire to create the rhymes for his books.

Ted left Springfield as a teenager to attend Dartmouth College. He became editor-in-chief of the Jack-O-Lantern, Dartmouth’s humor magazine, but when he and his friends were caught having a drinking party, which was against prohibition laws and school policy, he was ousted as editor-in-chief. However, he continued to contribute to the magazine using the pseudonym of “Seuss” which was his mother’s maiden name and his middle name, too.

His father wanted him to be a college professor, so he went to Oxford University in England, but he found academic studies boring and decided to tour Europe instead. However, Oxford was where he met Helen Palmer, who was a children’s author and book editor. She would become his first wife. When he returned to the United States, Ted began to pursue a career as a cartoonist. Although some magazines published his early pieces, most of his early career was devoted to creating advertising for Standard Oil. Later he focused on political cartoons and then made U.S. Army training movies. Viking Press offered him a contract to produce a collection of children’s sayings called Boners. The book didn’t sell well, but his illustrations got great reviews.

Our door won first prize in the door contest that year.

His first book that he both wrote and illustrated was And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. The illustrations were of streets and people in Springfield where he grew up. The book went through 27 rejections before being published by Vanguard Press.  

One year when I was still teaching, our school had a Dr. Seuss Door Contest. I chose his first book, and after reading it to my students, I asked them to write poems with the title “And to Think That I Saw It on Bancroft Street”. What I particularly liked about this book is that it encourages a child to use his/her imagination. My students came through with many imaginative poems, but the following was one of the best.

                                                          I saw a large truck

                                                          hooked to a bike

                                                          with a boy on it

                                                          that I seemed to like.

                                                          The boy was attached

                                                          to a man with a flute,

                                                          the man was hooked to

                                                          a small puny newt.

                                                          So that’s what I saw.

                                                          It was pretty neat,

                                                          And to think that that I saw

                                                          It on Bancroft Street.

-          John Franks

In 1967 Ted’s first wife died, and after that he married an old friend, Audrey Stone Geisel. She  influenced his later books, and now guards his legacy as the president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

From the time he wrote And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street until his death on September 24, 1991, he wrote and illustrated 44 children’s books. His books have been translated into more than 15 languages. Over 200 million copies found their way into hearts and homes throughout the world. Besides the books, there were eleven children’s TV specials, a Broadway musical and a feature-length movie with other motion pictures in the works. His honors include two Academy awards, two Emmy awards, a Peabody award and the Pulitzer Prize.

I think I’ll go now and dig out some of those books I’ve saved and read them again.

What is your favorite Dr. Seuss book?