letters, forming a word, represented. So even to small children, Seuss's writing builds self-esteem and encourages kids to read. The books he wrote for younger children are educational because they help them learn the letters in the alphabet as well as the sounds each letter makes, as in Dr. Seuss's ABC's. "Big A, little a, what begins with A? Aunt Annie's alligator, a, a, a. In One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Seuss also helps to teach young children colors and numbers.
Theodore Seuss Geisel's books were published from 1937 to 1995, although he died in September of 1991, and many of them are still in print today. The fact that several of his fifty-four books have been translated into twenty different languages only goes to show that his writing is well accepted not only in the United States, but also throughout various other countries around the world. The topics and themes of his writing are universal, and are enjoyed by people of all origins.
As nonsensical as Seuss's stories may seem, some of them venture into very deep and serious subjects. The Lorax, for example, deals with the subject of environmentalism, where a beautiful, almost magical place outdoors is transformed into a barren wilderness by someone who cuts all the trees and pollutes the pools and drives away the birds and kills the fish. This story teaches children to take care of the environment, yet the moral of the story isn't so strong that it overwhelms the reader. The Sneetches touches on an even more sensitive issue, racism. Suess takes two groups of characters, star-belly sneetches and plain-belly sneetches. Of course the star-belly sneetches are convinced that they"re better than the others, until one day a machine is.
invented that puts stars on the plain-belly sneetches so that they couldn't be told apart, proving that both groups are equal. .
Teachers often include Seuss's work in their lesson plans, not only in grade school, but also up through the college level.
