Historical Illustrator Biography – Theodor Seuss Geisel and Garth Williams

1873 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Biography paper on Theodor Seuss Geisel

Illustrator Biography – Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 2, 1904. His father worked in the family brewery, Kuhlmbach & Geisel, which locals pronounced, "come back and guzzle” until prohibition. His mother’s maiden name was Seuss. She was the daughter of a baker in Springfield. Seuss had an older sister named Marnie (Kibler, 1987). His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, according to Ted, often chanted rhymes from her youth to soothe Marnie and him to sleep. Ted claims both his ability and desire to create the rhymes for which he became so well known come from his mother’s influence. When Seuss was in high school, his art teacher told him he would never draw realistically. After one art lesson, he walked out of the class and never returned. Ted went to Dartmouth College, where he was an editor for Jack-O-Lantern, the college humor magazine. After getting in trouble for drinking gin in his room, Ted began to draw and write under different pseudonyms, including Seuss. Seuss himself claims that he used the name for his humorous essays and drawings, saving the name Geisel for his serious novels (MacDonald, 2004, p. 3). When Seuss became a magazine cartoonist, he began signing his work “Dr. Theophrastus Seuss” in 1927. He shortened that to “Dr. Seuss” in 1937 after his writings in Judge magazine (MacDonald, p. 5), and that is how Ted Geisel became Dr. Seuss. After graduation, Seuss went to Oxford to pursue a doctorate in English. There he met his first wife Helen Palmer, who encouraged him to draw because he obviously enjoyed that more than he liked English. After Seuss and Helen were married, they moved to New York where he got job... ... middle of paper ... ...000348&v=2.1&u=txshracd2679&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w Marcus, L. (1990). Garth Williams; his career spanning almost half a century, the artist's illustrations for children's books have become classics. (PW Interviews). Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-8541967/garth-williams-his-career.html Seuss, D. (1940). Horton hatches the egg. NY: Random House. Seuss, D. (1956). If I ran the circus. NY: Random House. Theodor Seuss Geisel. [A profile of the author’s life and works]. (2004). Contemporary Authors Online. Retrieved from Gale Cengage Learning. http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2267/itw/infomark/413/294/176380631w16/purl=rc1_CA_0_H1000035836&dyn=3!xrn_1_0_H1000035836?sw_aep=txshracd2679 White, E. B. (1952). Charlotte’s Web. NY: Harper Trophy. Wilder, L.I. (1939). By the Shores of Silver Lake. NY: Harper Collins.

Show More
Related

  • Brief Biography of Renown Children´s Author: Dr. Seuss

    653 Words  | 2 Pages

    When he was at oxford he met Helen Palmer then she became his wife in 1927. She persuaded him to give up on becoming an English teacher and to focus more on drawing more as a career. He left Oxford without a degree returned to the United States in February 1927. He immediately started publishing and working on books and drawings. Seuss was a perfectionist when he was writing a book he would throw away 95% of his work. His first book that he had published was called “And to Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street”. It was his first childrens book he wrote and illustrated it was published in 1937 after it being rejected 27 times it was finally published by the Vanguard Press. With that publication he ...

    Read More

  • Dr. Seuss' The Butter Battle Book and the Cold War

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dr. Seuss is an important figure in the lives of children everywhere. His stories are children’s classics that are fun to read and also tackle some real life issues. Dr. Seuss’s political views are very apparent in his some of his books like The Butter Battle Book, which discusses the issues of the Cold War.

    Read More

  • Comparing Harper Lee and Dr. Seuss

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    Theodor Seuss was born in Springfield, Mass. on March 2, 1904 and died on September 24, 1991. He graduated from Dartmouth College. Dr. Seuss was a children's author who target young readers. His first book was "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" and was followed by many other famous stories such as, "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and to one of his most famous books "The Cat in The Hat". Dr. Seuss is a well know author world-wide.

    Read More

  • Dr. Seuss 'The Lorax, Yertle The Turtle'

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dr. Seuss, also known as Theodore Seuss, has written many poems as well as short stories, and is considered one of the greatest children’s author in history. His silly stories are able to excite children in ways that make them want read. His Wife says,” Ted doesn’t sit down to write for children. He writes to amuse himself;” Little do children know that often, in his stories, there is a lot of political undertone, a few examples include The Lorax, Yertle the Turtle, The Sneethces, and The Butter Battle Book. If you were to really critique some of his books or poems, you might see that some of his themes wouldn’t seem to pertain to children.

    Read More

  • American Poets: Biography of E. E. Cummings

    1546 Words  | 4 Pages

    Born on October 14, 1894, E. E. Cummings an American poet was born at home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His mother had a great influence on his early interest in art and poetry. His father was a Unitarian clergyman and sociology professor at Harvard. He began his interest in writing poetry during his high school career as early as 1904 and he also began learning language such as Latin and Greek in the Cambridge Latin High School. During this time he also shortened his name from Edward Estlin to E. E (Constantakis).

    Read More

  • Dr. Seuss Persuasive Essay

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    The quote stated in the above paragraph is one of his many exact representation of his views on the world. Dr. Seuss is well known for writing many of the children's books my generation has grown up with, but is also known for inspiring and

    Read More

  • Artist Analysis of Eric Carle

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    Eric Carle, a widely known children’s book illustrator, was born in Syracuse, New York in 1929. His stylistic technique of collaging hand painted papers that are cut and layered to create cheery images has made him and his work distinct and easily recognizable. He grew up in Germany but moved back to the states where his advertising career began, followed by his work as an illustrator. Due to Carle’s love for nature and successful advertising career, his vibrant, simple, and animal-filled illustrations are clear pieces of evidence that reflect his past experiences.

    Read More

  • Theodor Seuss: Yertle The Turtle, How The Grinch Stole Christmas

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dr. Seuss was born in Springfield, MA on March 2, 1904 as Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss At Work). He attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He did his undergraduate work at Dartmouth; postgraduate, Oxford and Sorbonne( SV DO or C; S, DO or C) (Geisel, Theodor Seuss). Seuss became the editor-in-chief for Dartmouth’s Jack-o-lantern, the college’s humor magazine. It was now when he started signing his works with the pseudonym, Dr. Seuss. After his studies became too much to handle, he quit college and toured around Europe. When he returned home he began pursuing a career in cartooning (All About Dr. Seuss). He illustrated a collection of children’s saying called Boners. These sayings were not a huge success. He pushed for his original book, To Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street to be published seventeen times.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein vs Today’s Serial Killers

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    by his mother. While in college, Ted found the love of his life. They later broke up and

    Read More

  • The Scapegoat

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Waiting for the Signal From Home…”, PM Magazine, February 13,1942, Dr. Seuss ddndn Collection, MSS230, Special Collections and Archives, UC San Diego Library.

    Read More

  • The Life and Works of Ezra Jack Keats

    1874 Words  | 4 Pages

    After a four week survey of a multitude of children’s book authors and illustrators, and learning to analyze their works and the methods used to make them effective literary pieces for children, it is certainly appropriate to apply these new skills to evaluate a single author’s works. Specifically, this paper focuses on the life and works of Ezra Jack Keats, a writer and illustrator of books for children who single handedly expanded the point of view of the genre to include the experiences of multicultural children with his Caldecott Award winning book “Snowy Day.” The creation of Peter as a character is ground breaking in and of itself, but after reading the text the reader is driven to wonder why “Peter” was created. Was he a vehicle for political commentary as some might suggest or was he simply another “childhood” that had; until that time, been ignored? If so, what inspired him to move in this direction?

    Read More

  • Dr. Seuss

    2656 Words  | 6 Pages

    Dr. Seuss I took an unconventional approach in the topic I chose for my reading assignment – whereas most groups selected single novels, my partner and I opted to read a collection of short stories by none other than the notorious Dr. Seuss. Were I writing this essay on a “normal” book, I would be able to pose a question about the book itself and answer it in an ordinary sort of way. However, given the subject matter I have chosen, an essay on an individual book, though possible, would be a very tricky thing to do. It would be wiser, and probably easier, to respond to the man himself. My decision to respond to the man himself makes many more choices – what facet of Dr. Seuss shall I ask myself questions about? I think perhaps I first need to give some brief biographical information on the man to understand the background he’s coming from. In 1904, Theodore Seuss Geisel was born in Massachusetts, USA. I have not been able to find too much documentation about his childhood, but he certainly did not come from a terribly poor or terribly unsuccessful family… in fact, his family had owned a local brewery in their home town of Springfield for several years. Ever since his childhood, Geisel had dabbled in the fields we all know and love him for today… for instance, during bible recitals, he read the verses to a rhythm and often in rhyme. In High School he wrote many short essays and drew cartoons for the school paper, and even then he had adopted a pseudonym for himself – “Pete the Pessimist”. Upon graduation, Geisel began studying literature at Oxford university, as his original intent was to become an educator… even then, he punctuated his time at Oxford with his job editing and contributing to the “Jack-O-Lantern”, ...

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis of Dr. Seuss

    1670 Words  | 4 Pages

    The animated life of Theodor Geisel is evident in his literary masterpieces. He was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts to Theodor and Henrietta Geisel (Ford 14). Geisel grew up speaking German and English, and his fascination with quirky words began at an early age due to his family. For example, his sister, Margaretha, called herself Marnie Ding Ding Guy, and his first creation was the Wynnmph with ears three yards long (Kaplan). During his childhood, Geisel read widely and often - developing his voracious reading habit at an early age. By the time he was six years old, Ted was already reading Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson (Kaplan). However, college education never interested him. Labeled “Least Likely To Succeed” by his fellow classmates at Dartmouth University, Theodor often got in trouble for partying and was forced to resign from the school humor magazine. This gave birth to numerous pseudonyms of Geisel, such as L. Burbank, Thomas Mott Osbourne, Ted Seuss, Seuss, Dr. Seuss, and Theo LeSieg (Hurst). In his adult life, Theodor created various political cartoons for Judge, a humor magazine, and PM, a noted political magazine. The illustrations in these early cartoons foreshadow the quirky illustrations found in his children’s books (Kaplan). Geisel turned to writing children’s books when creating numerous ads for the popular insecticide, Flit, left him with little to do during the winter months (Hurst). By 1990, Dr. Seuss had written over forty books, two of which were Caldecott Honor books, and won two Academy Awards for his documentaries (Krull 39). Unfortunately, battling glaucoma and cataracts became too much for Theodor; he died on September...

    Read More

  • Dr. Seuss Biography

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    Born and raised in Springfield Massachusetts, Theodor Geisel was born on March 2nd 1904. Under the pen-name Dr. Seuss, Ted was able to accomplish his dream of becoming a writer after attending Dartmouth College and wrote for the school paper – the Jack-O-Lantern. Upon graduation, Geisel went to Oxford in which he received a PhD in English Literature and was inspired to become an English teacher and writer. Some of Dr. Seuss’s works include Horton Hears a Who, Green Eggs and Ham, The Lorax, and The Cat in the Hat. Throughout his lifetime, Dr. Seuss earned three Academy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, as well as numerous degrees and other awards. Dr. Seuss was not only a highly acclaimed children’s book writer as he is popularly known to be, but also, Ted Geisel is known for his work during the WWII era. He created hundreds of political cartoons in which he gave a voice to his views on topics such as war bonds and the war itself. Ted Geisel is an author who successfully revolutionized the way children read books through the creation of new “seussical” words, interesting rhyme scheme, as well as stories with meanings far beyond what they seem to represent at first glance. Geisel was able to enlist the help of the majority of the United States in WWII through the publication of cartoons and movies.

    Read More

  • A Timeline of Children's Literature

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    As children’s literature matured, so did the books. Illustrations were first made with woodcuts or on wood blocks that were colored by hand. By the late 1800s, printing had evolved and illustrations became mor...

    Read More

More about Historical Illustrator Biography – Theodor Seuss Geisel and Garth Williams

Open Document