March, 2008

Dr. Seuss’s Birthday!!!         

Dr. Seuss’s birthday is March 2.  He would have been 104 if he were still alive, since he was born in 1904.  Seuss was a pseudonym; it was actually the middle name of Theodor Seuss Geisel, known as Ted.  Geisel first used the pen name of Seuss when he was submitting cartoons to his college humor magazine, the Dartmouth Jack-o-Lantern.

Dr. Seuss’s first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times before being published in 1937 by Vanguard Press.

Geisel wrote his most famous book, The Cat in the Hat, in response to a 1954 magazine article, which discussed why children had trouble learning to read. In the article, the author blamed boring school textbooks: he wondered why they didn’t have interesting and funny pictures in them, “drawings like those of the wonderfully imaginative geniuses among children’s illustrators...Dr. Seuss, Walt Disney?”  Dr. Seuss responded to this "challenge" by deciding to write a book using an elementary school vocabulary list.  Dr. Seuss's publisher supplied him with a list of 223 words which young children being taught to read would be learning in school. Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him, created The Cat in the Hat, published in 1957. 

At the time of his death on September 24, 1991, Ted had written and illustrated 44 children's books. 

Two more were published after his death (based on drafts he left). His books have been translated into more than 15 languages. Over 200 million copies have been sold around the world.

Circulation stats:

So far this year, 2,996 books have been checked out by faculty and students!

Information Literacy Lessons

Kindergarten is working on alphabetizing, an important skill for locating information. They are sorting “sticks and stones” with letters on them.  The First grade is beginning their study of bears, with a discussion of fiction and non-fiction.  Second grade is finishing up their endangered species projects.  The Upper School students are wrapping up their intensive formal research papers. In addition to their formal papers, the Eighth graders are creating iMovies to present what they have learned.
           
“Now Playing” at the Library

Some ongoing displays – well worth “checking out” if you haven’t seen them yet: The Fourth grade’s “Book Report in a Can” are still on display, as are the Sixth graders’ “Villa Rusticas”. 

New:  There are some inventive advertisement posters extolling the value of 4th grade popcorn, and an exhibit about Dr. Seuss.

REQUEST for Bee Pictures

Keep them coming!!! If you have a pet (or baby) dress him or her up as a bee and take a picture! I love having members of the Upland family for the “Bee of the Day” poster I keep on my desk.  Here is a picture “story” about my parents’ dog, Crumpet.