Five fun facts about Dr Seuss – or Theodor Seuss Geisel, to give him his full name
1. His first book was rejected by over 20 publishers. Dr Seuss got the idea for his first work, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, from listening to the rhythmic sound of a ship’s engine. The book was reportedly rejected by anything between 20 and 43 publishers (the author’s own account of the number varied) before it was accepted for publication by Vanguard Press in 1937. His books have gone on to sell over half a billion copies worldwide, making him one of the biggest-selling children’s authors in the world.
2. Dr Seuss included the word ‘contraceptive’ in a draft of his children’s book Hop on Pop to make sure his publisher was paying attention. The original draft of the book contains these lines: ‘When I read I am 
smart / I always cut whole words apart. / Con Stan Tin O Ple, Tim Buk Too / Con Tra Cep Tive, Kan Ga Roo.’ We’re pleased to report that the publisher, Bennett Cerf, was paying attention, and this line was removed. (More great word facts here.)
3. When Dr. Seuss suffered from writer’s block, he would go to a secret closet filled with hats and wear them till the words came. He owned hundreds of hats and would encourage his guests at dinner parties to wear one. His second book, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, appears to have been autobiographical.
4. ‘Dr Seuss’ is one of the most mispronounced of all writers’ names. It actually rhymes with ‘voice’, so ‘Zoyce’ rather than ‘Zeus’. As well as using the name Dr Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel also wrote under the pen names Theo LeSieg and Rosetta Stone.
5. His bestselling book Green Eggs and Ham was banned in Maoist China because it portrayed ‘early Marxism’. Perhaps one of the more surprising banned books, Green Eggs and Ham was outlawed in China until Seuss’s death in 1991. He wrote the book as the result of a bet – he was challenged to write a book using just 50 words. All but one of the words in the book are monosyllabic: ‘anywhere’ is the only word in Green Eggs and Ham that has more than one syllable.
Image: Ted Geisel (Dr Seuss) photographed by Al Ravenna, 1957; Wikimedia Commons; public domain.
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Reblogged this on ArtFreak.
I did not know that about the pronunciation. Does anybody (who speaks English) pronounce his name the correct way or do we accept the “Anglicised” pronunciation?
There’s an engaging biography of Dr. Seuss/Soyce/Zeus/Zoyce. It’s available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Seuss-Mr-Geisel-Biography/dp/030680736X/
Worth the read.
Great post!
That is incredible! I love that he went to a closet, put on hats for his writers block!
I alwaysed love dr.seuss my favorite book was hop in pop and it was the first book I read all by myself.
Dr Soyce? Just not the same. Another fun fact is the discovery of a new manuscript by his widow.
Reblogged this on Creative Writing.
I love Dr. Seuss! I also heard (I forget where) that he actually didn’t like children all that much. He wrote children’s books because of the money.
I had no idea he had all those hats! Thanks for sharing all the fun facts.
FYI: Dr. Seuss was raised in Springfield, MA, where I was also raised. His parents owned a brewery in the city which went out of business because of Prohibition. And, there really is a Mulberry Street! Also the quadrangle complex in the city which houses museums and the main library has a monument to the good Dr. See it here: http://www.catinthehat.org/memorial.htm
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Those are fascinating indeed! So we’ve all been mispronouncing “Seuss”? But if I start pronouncing it correctly, no one will know who I’m referring to!
Reblogged this on nativemericangirl's Blog and commented:
Five fun facts about Dr. Seuss or Theodor Seuss Geisel, to give him his full name.
Reblogged this on Fiction 4 Writers and Readers and commented:
More fascinating facts about America’s most beloved author. And yes, I find it inspiring how many times his first book was rejected!!!
Reblogged this on I'm Not Miss Beadle and commented:
Here are some interesting ‘fun facts’ about Dr. Seuss. I’m reblogging this article from Interesting Literature in honor of his birthday. We celebrated today in the O.K. Corral. Stay tuned for that post. Until then, Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Im glad that Vanguard took the chance!
Something to cheer up all the writers with a drawer full of rejection letters.
Thank you for the interesting facts. I particularly liked the last one.