He pronounced his name /ˈsɔɪs/, but it is often said as /ˈsuːs/.
Life and Career
Geisel was born and raised in Manhattan, New York, the son of Theodor Robert Geisel and Henrietta Geisel (née Seuss). His father managed the family brewery and was later appointed to supervise New York's public park system by Mayor Jimmy Walker after the brewery closed because of Prohibition. Mulberry Street in Manhattan, made famous in his first children's book and to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, is near his boyhood home on Fairfield Street. The family was of German descent. Geisel was raised as a Cathedral of Saint Andrew and remained in the denomination his entire life.
Works
Geisel wrote more than 60 books. He got the ideas for his stories from the animal sounds from the nearby zoo, because he could hear them when he opened the window. Though most of them were published as Dr. Seuss, he also wrote 13 books as Theo. LeSieg and one as Rosetta Stone (a reference to the Rosetta Stone). Theodor Seuss Geisel is one of the most famous children's authors of all time. His books were known for catchy sentences. His books have sold over 222 million copies and they have been translated into more than 15 languages. In the years after his death in 1991, many books have been published based on his sketches and notes; these include Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! and Daisy-Head Mayzie. Though they were all published under the name Dr. Seuss, only My Many Colored Days, originally written in 1973, was entirely by Geisel. By the time of his death he had sold 200 million copies of his books. There is a museum devoted only for his books in Springfield, Mass.
As Dr. Seuss
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937)
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938)
The King's Stilts (1939)
The Seven Lady Godivas (1940)
Horton Hatches the Egg (1940)
McElligot's Pool (Caldecott Honor Book, 1947)
Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose (1948)
Bartholomew and the Oobleck (Caldecott Honor Book, 1949)
Theodor Seuss Geisel: The Early Works, Volume 1 (Checker Book Publishing, 2005; ISBN1-933160-01-2), Early Works Volume 1 is the first of a series collecting various political cartoons, advertisements, and various images drawn by Geisel long before he had written any of his world-famous books.
Dr. Seuss From Then to Now (New York: Random House, 1987; ISBN0-394-89268-2) is a biographical retrospective published for the exhibit of the same title at the San Diego Museum of Art
Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel,a biography by close friends Judith and Neil Morgan (1995, Random House)
The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss by Audrey Geisel (New York: Random House, 1995; ISBN0-679-43448-8) contains many full-color reproductions of Geisel's private, previously unpublished artwork.
Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel, a selection with commentary by Richard Minnear (New Press, 2001; ISBN1-56584-704-0).
Oh, the Places He Went, a story about Dr. Seuss by Maryann Weidt (Carolrhoda Books, 1995; ISBN0-87614-627-2)
The Seuss, the Whole Seuss and Nothing But the Seuss: A Visual Biography of Theodor Seuss Geisel by Charles Cohen (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2004; ISBN0-375-82248-8).
Dr. Seuss: American Icon by Philip Nel (Continuum Publishing, 2004; ISBN0-8264-1434-6)
The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats by Philip Nel (Random House, 2007; ISBN978-0-375-83369-4)
The Tough Coughs as he Ploughs the Dough: Early Writings and Cartoons by Dr. Seuss, edited and with an introduction by Richard Marschall (also includes autobiographical material); ISBN0-688-06548-1
The Boy on Fairfield Street by Kathleen Krull. It tells about the childhood of Dr. Seuss and shows the sources of many of his inspirations.