Dr Seuss! Mental Floss Magazine gives some background about where some of Dr. Seuss's stories came from:
by - September 24, 2008 - 2:05 PM
On this day in 1991, the world lost a classic writer and artist – Dr. Seuss (AKA Theodor Geisel). I know the _floss has done stories on Dr. Seuss before, so I thought we’d go a little bit different route today – the stories behind his stories.
1. The Lorax. In case you haven’t read The Lorax, it’s widely recognized as Dr. Seuss’ take on environmentalism and how humans are destroying nature. The logging industry was so upset about the book that some groups within the industry sponsored The Truax, a similar book but from the logging point of view. Another interesting fact: the book used to contain the line, “I hear things are just as bad up in Lake Erie,” but 14 years after the book was published, the Ohio Sea Grant Program wrote to Seuss and told him how much the conditions had improved and implored him to take the line out. Dr. Seuss agreed and said that it wouldn’t be in future editions.
2. Horton Hears a Who! Somehow, Geisel’s books find themselves in the middle of controversy. The line from the book, “A person’s a person, no matter how small,” has been used as a slogan for pro-life organizations for years. It’s often questioned whether that was Seuss’ intent in the first place, but I would say not: when he was still alive, he threatened to sue a pro-life group unless they removed his words from their letterhead. Karl ZoBell, the attorney for Dr. Seuss’ interests and for his widow, Audrey Geisel, says that she doesn’t like people to “hijack Dr. Seuss characters or material to front their own points of view.”
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I remember where I sat in my bedroom when, as a little girl more than fifty years ago, I read Dr. Seuss' book, And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street. I remember the pictures, the words, and the pages. I also remember being excited about the fun I was having with words while reading that story. God Bless Dr. Seuss!
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