If you want to pronounce the name the way his family did, say Zoice, not Soose.
His real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel. Dr. Seuss was one of his pen names. Other pen names he wrote under include Theo LeSieg and Rosetta Stone.
The Lorax, Horton Hears a Who, The Cat in the Hat and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas are just a few of the celebrated works Dr. Seuss created during his lifetime. In total he produced 46 childrens books that are renowned for their characters, rhymes and poetic qualities.
In life Geisel was always interested in telling a good story. He started his career out of love for cartooning which got him a job in advertising. Geisel created adverts for 30 years until he wrote his 13th children’s book, The Cat in the Hat. He wrote The Cat in the Hat because he feared that children were not learning to read. There were, apparently, no exceptionally interesting books for children at the time (1954/1955) and Geisel was approached by William Spaulding who challenged him to write a story that children were unable to put down. Challenge accepted. The Cat in the Hat sold nearly a million copies by the end of 1960.
The book’s success inspired Geisel to publish more books designed to help children learn to read. He did not only want to teach children how to read, he also wanted to teach them how to think. Above all his other books, he wanted to communicate a positive post-war message through The Lorax and Horton Hears a Who. The Lorax, for example, was inspired by the need for environmental conservation.
The Lorax, which opens on South African cinemas today, has recently sparked some political debate. In fact, from the time of initial publishing, some have argued that certain of Geisel’s stories contain propagated narratives. The Lorax has been called “An insidious attempt…to indoctrinate our children”; however, Audrey Stone Geisel, who was married to Dr. Seuss from 1968 until his death in 1991 and who is now the president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, feels that there is nothing controversial about The Lorax, and that the environment is one of the most essential things we have that we should treasure. Despite the controversy surrounding the film, it remains a commercial success at the International Box office this week with an average audience rating of 72% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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