THE DOCTOR IS STILL 'IN': DR. SEUSS REMAINS A CLASSIC CHILDREN'S FAVORITE

The first-grader at Orchard Elementary School is just learning to read, and Dr. Seuss is one of his favorite authors.

With silly words, crazy characters and humorous stories, Dr. Seuss is popular with both children and adults. Nearly any book by Dr. Seuss makes the list of children's classics.

And because the books use simple words, repetition and rhyming, it makes reading fun and an accomplishment for young children, librarians say.

"Their face just lights up," said Brenda Renner, who works in the children's department at the Cape Girardeau Public Library. "They know those words and know that book. It's a major milestone."

Some of the first books a child reads alone are "Fox in Socks," "The Cat in the Hat" and "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish."

Educators, librarians and parents are encouraging everyone to "Read Across America" Friday in recognition of Dr. Seuss' birthday.

The literacy event is sponsored by the National Education Association, which represents 2.6 million teachers, administrators and educators.

Dr. Seuss books make reading fun, Renner said. "The language words is fun and the images that he conjures up take them to magic places."

Some of the book covers might be a little worn out, but there are plenty of copies of Dr. Seuss titles at the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

"They're fun and bright and just take you into a world of imagination," said Renner.

And nearly everyone has a favorite book, whether it's "Fox in Socks," or "Green Eggs and Ham," "Horton Hears a Who" or the "Lorax."

The books are classics, librarians say. Parents read them as children and are now reading them to their children.

"I think that's a definition of a classic. They're favorites forever," said Betty Martin, director.

Books never dated

Because the words and images Seuss uses in his books are made up, they are never dated. The rhyming and repetition are comforting to young children, librarians say.

"Many of the children learned to read with them because of their simple vocabulary," Martin said.

Her children can recite parts of the books, as can many of the library staff.

"The imagination gives them a timeless quality," Martin said.

Whether it's silly words or colorful pictures, Theodor Geisel made an impression on young readers with his 44 books, written under the name Dr. Seuss.

Geisel first began writing in 1937, but one of his most popular books, "The Cat in the Hat," didn't get published until the 1950s.

The book came as somewhat of a challenge from his publisher who had read a report that children weren't reading books because they were boring. The publisher sent Geisel a list of 400 words he thought important for children to learn and asked that Geisel trim it to 250 words.

"The Cat in the Hat" uses 220 of those words.

Another book also came after a challenge. Someone bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write a book using only 50 words. He did: Its title was "Green Eggs and Ham."

Some Dr. Seuss facts * Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield, Mass., on March 2, 1904. He died Sept. 24, 1991.

* Dr. Seuss first developed the idea for his children's books while on a cruise in 1936. The rhythm of the ship's engine brought about the cadence for "And to think I saw it on Mulberry Street." The book was rejected by 43 publishers before being accepted in 1937.

* Over the years Dr. Seuss wrote and illustrated 44 children's books.

* A 1954 report in Life magazine prompted Seuss's publisher to send Geisel a list of 400 words he thought were important for children to learn. He asked Geisel to cut that list to 250 and use them in a book. Nine months later 220 of those words were used in "The Cat in the Hat."

* In 1960, Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write a book using only 50 words. The result became a popular book, "Green Eggs and Ham."