Facts About Dr. Seuss and The Cat in the Hat

Theodor Geisel, who is the famous Dr. Seuss himself, has always intrigued us with his quirky characters and clever rhymes. But where did Geisel learn to have such remarkable rhyming skills? Well, it is believed that his mother would often chant rhymes to her children, to help soothe them to sleep.

Theodor Geisel first started using "Seuss" as a pseudonym at a University. Seuss was actually his mothers maiden name and also his middle name. Although he was not a doctor, he later added the title "Dr." to Seuss, just to honor his dad who always wanted Geisel to become a doctor.

Geisel's first book was called, "And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street". It is a fun story about an imaginative little boy who wants to impress his dad with a great story on what he saw coming back home from school. And so the boy imagines many different scenarios out of just a simple horse and wagon he sees. Where? You guessed it, on Mulberry Street! Believe it or not, "And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street", was actually turned down repeatedly by 28 different publishers, but lucky for us, Random House recognized his talent and published the book.

And who can forget our all time favorite,"Cat in the Hat", published in 1957? Remember the little boy and girl (Sally) who gets a surprised visit from the mischievous black and white cat wearing a tall red and white stripe hat and red bow tie? The whimsical cat wants to entertain the kids with a couple of wacky tricks, but their pet goldfish is not amused, no, not one bit!

Did you ever noticed how the Cat in the Hat used the same vocabulary words over and over again throughout the book?. Well, Seuss was actually challenged by his publisher into writing a children's book using only 236 vocabulary words. This will prove to many that a great children's book can be written using those vocabulary words that were once said to "bore" children to stop reading.

Well, Seuss indeed proved everyone wrong by publishing a wonderful book that both children and adults have loved for over 50 years now. It took him 9 months to finish the Cat in the Hat, which is quite understandable! Who can actually come up with such a great book using only the same 236 vocabulary words!? Well Mr. Theodor Geisel did and I tip my hat to that.