Celebrating 20 years of Read Across America: The enduring impact of Dr. Seuss on young minds

Celebrating Read Across America: How Dr. Seuss continues to inspire young readers

On Sunday, March 2, the National Education Association encourages schools and libraries to celebrate Read Across America. The program is celebrated on the birthday of one of the most prominent children book authors ever – Dr. Seuss. The day was officially launched March 2, 1998, and ever since, it has continued to grow in scope and size. Today, more than 50 national nonprofit and association sponsors and more than 3.3 million NEA members support the effort every year. Now in its 20th year, this year-round program focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.

Theodor Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and he graduated from Dartmouth College and attended Oxford University. Geisel published his first children’s book, And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, in 1937, after 27 publishers rejected it. In 1954, Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Hersey challenged Geisel to write a story “first graders wouldn't be able to put down." Using a vocabulary of only 236 words, Random House published The Cat in the Hat, a book that continues to charm children more than 50 years later. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, an Academy Award, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Caldecott Honors, Geisel wrote and illustrated 44 books. While Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading.

Labeled as “The Simplest Seuss for the Youngest Use”, Hop on Pop contains several short poems about a variety of characters, and it is designed to introduce basic phonics to children. Children quickly learn that they can read just by changing or adding the first letter of a word. When my children were very small, our Hop on Pop small board book was always in the side pocket of the diaper bag. The simple illustrations charmed my children. But, what joy, when our oldest, Gregory, could read this book to his younger brother and sisters.

“Do you like green eggs and ham?” asks Sam-I-am in the beginner book, Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr. Seuss. This wacky book has been my companion for numerous important events. I recall having this book as a kid with a snazzy orange cover. By the time I read this book to my nieces and nephews (as an excuse to practice character voices), the cover was a funky yellow but the impetus to try green eggs and ham was the same. As a speech and theater major in college, a storytelling class inspired a costumed performance of this dramatic masterpiece. Additionally, my children enjoyed this book as we would make up Seuss-influenced rhymes about cars, animals, and each other.

Repetition, sound, spelling, fancy literary words, and more are all contained in Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? Children focus on the fun sound words of this Seuss book but in later years will learn the term, onomatopoeia. These sounds help young children learn about language and will enable them to put sounds together. After reading this book, our four noisemakers would imitate animal or environmental sounds telling my husband and me that they were like Mr. Brown. Often we would follow up with costumes and character development complete with names. Just like in The Little Rascals, we’d put on a show even if for an audience of one!

Read Across America is a perfect holiday to get children interested in reading. Parents can take their children to special events and book readings on this day and teachers can dedicate the whole day reading the classics. And, if you really want to make the day exciting, you can purchase Cat in the Hat hats and wear them while you read. Dine on green eggs and ham. After all, on this day, Dr. Seuss was born as well. No matter what you do, however, make sure you instill the love of reading into the next generation. Dr. Seuss said it best, “You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book & read to a child.”