Happy Birthday, Dr Seuss

Tomorrow,  March 2 is the 113th anniversary of the birth of Theodor Seuss Geisel, known to generations of children as Dr. Seuss. He believed learning to read should be fun and exciting. He respected children and trusted their intelligence. As I have said before, I grew up in a Dick and Jane world. Dr. Seuss changed that.

It is also  is Read Across America Day. Celebrated in conjunction with the March 2 Birthday of Dr. Seuss, The National Education Association (NEA) sponsors the day to help create a nation of readers.

Ideas for Student Folders

 While looking for bookish quotes to put in my students' end of the year folder I thought I'd share with you some that I liked. You can copy and print them by clicking on the photo and then printing them on your computer. Some of these pictures are coming up larger or smaller than you see on the screen. If that happens left click on the image and choose "save image as" and then you can increase or decrease the size and print from there. You can find more quotes on my Pinterest board.

It is never to early to learn about the Reader's Bill of Rights. 

Read Across America Day

In celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday, March 2 is Read Across America Day sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA).

More wisdom from Dr. Seuss

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

One hundred and twelve years ago, on March 2, Dr Seuss was born. Young readers owe him a great debt, not only for his colorful and engaging books but for starting a beginning reader division at the publisher, Random House. You can read more about Dr Seuss here.

Time Magazine’s 100 Best Children’s Books of All Time

The list includes books we have reviewed here: Extra Yarn, Journey, The Day The Crayons Quit, The Snowy Day and Press Here. Where the Wild Things Are, The Cat in The Hat and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day and Madeline are also included. Since this is a list of picture books it is a puzzle as to why Out Of My Mind, a very worthy book, was on this list.

Happy 110th Birthday, Dr Seuss

Back in the olden days when I was a kid (the fifties), a book was written by Rudolf Flesch called Why Johnny Can’t Read (there is nothing new in the universe). Flesch along with the journalist, John Hersey, blamed boring primers, like the Dick and Jane books,  for that failure. Dr. Seuss rode to the rescue with  The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham (and many more) that even with a limited vocabulary were engaging and funny.

 

Each year his birthday is celebrated as Read Across America Day sponsored by the National Education Association. Read more about why Read Across America is so important here.

Thought For Today

NYPL Top Children’s Books of the Last 100 Years

The New York Public Library (NYPL) presented its first ever list of the Top Children’s Books of the Last 100 Years. Many of the books are no surprise: Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle and Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. Some have been featured on this blog: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, Holes by Louis Sacher and The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. There are books that I loved as a kid: Charlotte’s Web by E B White, Madeleine by Ludwig Bemelmans and The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien. A generation later my children loved: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume, The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. My grandchildren love: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J K Rowling .  Check out the  complete list at School Library Journal.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Saturday, March 2 is the 109th anniversary of the birth of Theodor Seuss Geisel, known to generations of children as Dr. Seuss. He believed learning to read should be fun and exciting. He respected children and trusted their intelligence. As I have said before, I grew up in a Dick and Jane world. Dr. Seuss changed that.

For some interactive Dr. Seuss fun go to Seussville .

Remember, Read Across America, is Friday, March 1st.

Read Across America

Friday, March 1, is Read Across America Day. Celebrated in conjunction with the March 2 Birthday of Dr. Seuss, The National Education Association (NEA) sponsors the day to help create a nation of readers.

What are you planning to read on Friday?

Roosevelt Elementary in Santa Monica did a great video to inspire you and your kids: It's a Readathon! (Gangnam Style).

Hat Tip: Read Across America on Facebook

Read Across America

Read Across America was started in 1998 by the National Education Association (NEA). The goal is to have every child in every community celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. The purpose of Read Across America is to motivate children to create lifelong successful readers.

Research shows that children who read independently do better in school and on achievement tests. Fifteen minutes a day of independent reading translates into 1,146,000 words read per year and scoring in the 80th percentile on the tests. Twenty minutes day is 1,823,000 words read per year and a score in the 90th percentile. So grab a book and your favorite child(ren) and start reading!

Note: Yulupa teachers ask for 20 minutes a day of independent reading.

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Even though he published his first book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street in 1937, Dr. Seuss earned most of his income until 1957 in advertising. By then, he had written 12 children’s books. In the late fifties, there was concern that children were not learning to read. Some writers like Rudolf Flesch (Why Johnny Can’t Read) and an article by John Hersey in Life magazine, blamed boring primers like the Dick and Jane books for that failure. William Spaulding, who headed his publisher’s education division, challenged Dr. Seuss to “Write me a story that first-graders can’t put down!” It was to be limited to 225 different words out of a list of 348 words. The result was The Cat in the Hat.

In 1958, Seuss, his wife Helen and Phyllis Cerf started Beginner Books, a division of  Random House headed by Bennett Cerf. The mission of Beginner Books  is to publish books that help children learn to read. Some of the first books published were The Cat in The Hat Comes Back, P.D. Eastman’s Go, Dog, Go and Stan and Jan Berenstain’s The Big Honey Hunt.

Bennett Cerf bet Dr Seuss that he could not write a book using 50 or fewer words. He won that bet with Green Eggs and Ham which is his best selling title.

Other beginning best sellers include One fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and the favorite in our family, Hop on Pop.

All eight of these books are available in the Yulupa Library and the Sonoma County Library.