April 30, 2019
By Emma Ferschweiler
Staff Writer
Childhood memories will be sparked again as two new works by Dr. Seuss are set to be released later this year.
The famous author Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, died in 1991, but he left multiple unpublished stories and illustrations behind. In September, two of his works, “Horse Museum” and “Dr. Seuss’s ’tis the Season: A Holiday Celebration” will go on sale.
“Horse Museum” tells the story of a horse who leads a group of kids through an art museum. This book conveys the message that it is important to accept people whose opinions differ from your own.
English teacher Mrs. Ruiz said while she did not grow up reading Dr. Seuss, she read the books to her daughters ever since they were young. She said she is looking forward to the release of “Horse Museum.”
“I like that message and what it will teach children about acceptance and how beauty is subjective,” Ruiz said.
She said in addition to the important themes, she is looking forward to viewing Dr. Seuss’ unique illustrations.
“I have also read that some famous artists as well as some of Dr. Seuss’ famous book characters will make appearances in the illustrations of the book, which sounds like a pretty fun addition to the text,” Ruiz said.
While “Horse Museum” features an original plot, “Dr. Seuss’s ’tis the Season: A Holiday Celebration” will be a collection of previously published stories, including “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
Junior Emily Pelle, who intends to pursue a career teaching young children, said she has been a Dr. Seuss fan since she was little. Pelle believes these new books can ignite a passion for reading in today’s youth and act as a positive learning tool.
“No matter how old your students are, they will always love reading a Dr. Seuss book,” Pelle said.
She said at a time when technology has taken over the toy industry, reading is an especially important part of a child’s routine.
“If you have ever read these types of books to a child, you can see the big difference it can make,” Pelle said.
She said Dr. Seuss’ books lead children to become avid readers because they are both fun and exciting.
Science teacher Mr. Mosca, who has five children, said his favorite Dr. Seuss books are “The Best Nest” and “Go Dog Go.”
“I think it does a great job of teaching kids how to read by keeping engaged while reading,” Mosca said.
Although he never read Dr. Seuss as a kid, Mosca said he understands why the author is so popular.
“Although many things have changed throughout the years, one thing that has been pretty consistent is children books, with Dr. Seuss being a big part of that,” Mosca said.
History teacher Mr. Tessalone recently taught his United States History II class about Dr. Seuss’ influence in the lead up to the U.S.’ entrance into World War II. He said while Dr. Seuss is now remembered as a children’s illustrator, in the early 1940s, he drew political cartoons vilifying the Axis powers, mainly targeting Germans and Japanese.
“Some of the political cartoons technically would not be considered politically correct today,” Tessalone said, explaining that the facial features on the Japanese figures in the cartoons were caricatured.
However, later in his life, Dr. Seuss tried to atone for these comics by publishing stories such as “Horton Hears a Who,” which illustrates the journey of Horton the elephant as he protects a small city on a clover. This causes other animals to mistreat him. They harass him in a variety of ways, to which Horton repeatedly responds, “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” In the end, he convinces the bullies to stop the abuse.
Aware of the positive messages in Dr. Seuss’ children’s books, Tessalone said he intends to share them with his infant daughter when she is older.
“He led a very interesting life, and he did something that transcended generations with his books and his works,” said Tessalone.
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