In celebration of the anniversary of Dr. Seuss’s birth, here is a video byCollege Humor providing a realistic remix of Dr. Seuss’s classic “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” Click here to view.
Tag Archives: Dr. Seuss
Runway: Seuss’s Treasure Chest
9 AprIn the mid 20th century, Theodor Suess Geisel planted seven little stories into the soil of various magazines. This September, over five decades later, those seeds will be re-planted in the hoops of blooming in the garden of “The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories”.
The Guardian’s childrens book section provides a delightful look into the forthcoming archival release. (Special thanks to CraveWriting reader Joe Allen for the article link!)
“Bippolo Seed” will be displayed on shelves just three weeks after the arrival of Maurice Sendak’s picture book “Bumble-Ardy.” With so many new faces in kid lit tirelessly picking away at the inspiring yet overbearing shadow of Seuss and Sendak, it will be interesting to see if anyone will be able to compete with them this summer.
IMAGICISE: SEUSSY
2 MarIn honor of Theodor Seuss Giesel birthday, this installment of imagicise is themed to the iconic legend himself. ‘Seussy’ tickles imaginators into entering the zany world of Dr. Seuss while flexing their own creative muscles.
According to Urban Dictionary, ‘seussy’ is an adjective characterized by or possessing qualities similar to the works of Dr. Seuss. Synonyms included strange, awkward, ridiculous, nonsensical, surreal, abstract, and unconventional.
For those wishing to ‘tone’ their creative muscles, simply spend 5 minutes on each prompt.
For those ‘bulking up’, spend an additional 5 minutes writing or follow the specific instructions with each prompt.
So finish your green eggs and ham and get writing so you’ll be ready when the cat in the hat comes back.
* For further directions on ‘Imagicise’ click here.
Seussy
-
Day 1: I Will Only Eat Green Eggs and Ham– What if you exclusively dined on green eggs and ham? Write the dialogue as Sam attempts to convince you to eat other foods.
-
Day 2: The Grinch Who Stole… – We all know what the Grinch stole, but try to imagine what other things he might try to steal. Create a list of traditions, customs, and/or feelings he could steal. For those ‘bulking up,’ spend an additional 5 minutes changing ‘stole’ in “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” to another verb. Examples include borrowed and unwrapped.
-
Day 3: Not-So-Important – William Ellsworth Spaulding of Houghton Mifflin compiled a list of 348 words he felt were important for 1st graders to know and asked Seuss to trim the list down to 250. The result was the Cat in the Hat which used 236 of those words. Now imagine an editor has asked you to compile a list of words “not-so-important” words for 1st graders to know. For example: glucose, insolent, or horology. This will help you to reach pass your comfort zone and pull out academic, bizarre, or just plain odd words. While you may never use all of these words, many may prove useful in some works.
-
Day 4: 50 Words – “Green Eggs and Ham” was born from a $50 bet with publisher Bennet Cerf that Seuss could not write a book using only 50 different words. In 5 minutes (or as long as it takes) quickly pen 50 words you would like to use for an easy reader/beginner book. For those ‘bulking up,’ spend the next 5 minutes beginning to write a book using those 50 words. While you don’t have to pen this tale, this list will show you some of your favorite words, as well as point out possible “crutch” words you need to avoid. In addition, any list, no matter how random, could be a launchpad for new ideas.
-
Day 5: If I Ran the Amusement Park – In ‘If I Ran the Zoo,’ a young boy lets his imagination out of its cage as he describes a humorously odd assortment of animals. In the style of ‘If I Ran the Zoo,” create a list of crazy-named amusement park rides, attractions, shows, games, and food. For those ‘bulking up,’ spend an additional 5 minutes poetically turning each item into a narrative text.
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss
2 MarHappy Anniversary of Theodor Seuss Giesel’s Birth!
With more written about Dr. Seuss than his 60 plus books themselves, I’ll refrain from failing at penning an earth-shattering composition about the best selling children’s writer of all time. Instead, here’s a random assortment of tidbitz and linkadoodles.
In regards to branding and carrying a similar tone through one’s portfolio, I would have to say that Gary Larson is the comic strip industry’s Dr. Seuss.
Dr. Seuss’s Best Selling Children’s Books
BRAND: Dr. Seuss is best known for his made-up words, zany rhymes, and fantastical settings. But I believe his success is due to the Dr. Seuss brand. “Where the Wild Things Are” has always retained fame over its creator Maurice Sendak. Though Dr. Seuss as an icon and symbol hogs the spotlight even his most famous creations such as the Grinch, or the Cat in the Hat. Personally, as only a writer, I think it will be extremely difficult to build a “brand” for myself. Giesel luckily was also an illustrator and was able to stream a similar tone throughout all of his texts. Tomie DePaula has written/illustrated over 200 books, but does not shine in the market as a symbolic brand name. Even heralded Jane Yolen is more noted in the mainstream for individual pieces. Therefore, I encourage unpublished authors to consider their career with each submission. Perhaps this helps explain why I’m sitting on 60 plus manuscripts. I’d love to see “Where Should I Pee?” or “The Turd that Wouldn’t Flush” making conservative librarians giggle….but I need to establish myself before I’m type casted as a “gross” writer who employs cheap tricks to entice sales. In addition, my “What If?” series has the most marketable potential, but since each title is so reliant on illustration, I also need to wait until I’m embedded enough in the industry to be able to pull in and collaborate with an illustrator. Maybe I’m looking to far ahead, but I’m ready to write my history before it happens. So what do you think “Crave Cravak,” “Mr. Crave,” or “The Crave?”
Dr. Seuss’s first book, “And to Think That I saw It on Mulberry Street” was rejected 27 times before it was published. Keep sending until you can pass 27, so then when you become famous, people can reference how you were rejected ?? times to motivate aspiring writers.
Dr. Seuss published his first children’s book at the age of 34. Since I turn 30 next week, I’ve got 4 years! I’m too scared to consider how it will take 2-3 years beyond acceptance for the book to be technically published. Oh boy, I better get sending!
Awards are great…for the winners. Just remember if you come out on the losing end that Dr. Seuss has never won a Caldecott or Newbury Medal. Though three of his books were runners-up.
Dr. Seuss Landing at Universal Islands of Adventure was constructed with “no straight lines.”
It’s not a coincidence that March 2nd, Dr. Seuss’s birthday, is National Read Across America Day.
Seussy is listed in Urban Dictionary as an adjective that is characterized by or possessing qualities similar to the works ofDr.Seuss.
Crave Writing 