There is no one alive who is Youer than You

Happy 108th birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen name Dr. Seuss.

In 1954, the director of the education division at Houghton Mifflin compiled a list of 348 words he felt were important for first-graders to recognize and asked Seuss to write a book using only 250 those words that "children can't put down."

Nine months later, Seuss, using 236 of those words, completed The Cat in the Hat.

He eventually published 46 children's books, which were often characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use of trisyllabic meter.

Seuss' birthday, March 2, has been adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day, an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association.
 

Many of Seuss' books express his views on social and political issues including the 1971 book The Lorax about environmentalism and anti-consumerism.

Coincidentally (I think not!) the 2012 moving picture version of The Lorax was released today.

In The Lorax, a 12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.

I know what I'll be doing this weekend....