47. Cynthia Gorney, “Dr. Seuss at 75: Grinch, Cat in the Hat, Wocket and Generations of Kids in His Pocket,” Washington Post, May 21, 1979.
48. Jonathan Cott, “The Good Dr. Seuss,” in Pipers at the Gates of Dawn: The Wisdom of Children’s Literature (New York: Random House, 1983).
49. Gorney, “Dr. Seuss at 75.”
50. Cott, “The Good Dr. Seuss.” Curiously, in another interview, he would claim he had also been inspired by watching Kenyan workmen cutting down trees on the African plains. Also see Berman, “Real-Life Seuss Welcomes Kids to ‘Hoos.’”
51. Gorney, “Dr. Seuss at 75.”
52. “‘Somebody’s Got to Win’ in Kids’ Books: An Interview with Dr. Seuss on His Books for Children, Young and Old,” U.S. News & World Report, April 14, 1986.
53. Gorney, “Dr. Seuss at 75.”
54. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 210.
55. “She Brings Colour to Seuss Books,” Evening Post (NZ), May 10, 1976, Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
56. Gorney, “Dr. Seuss at 75.”
57. Dick Kleiner, “A Rounder Cat in a Rounder Hat,” Times-News (Burlington, NC), March 10, 1971.
58. Jim Korkis, “Cartoon Research,” Animation Anecdotes #24, January 15 ,2016. Retrieved at http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/animation-anecdotes-245/.
59. Earl Wilson, “Allan Sherman Is ‘Weigh Behind,’” Philadelphia Daily News, March 2, 1971.
60. Tom Green, “Cat in the Hat Survived Coast Quake,” Times Herald (Port Huron, MI), March 5, 1971.
61. Ursula Vils, “Dr. Seuss: A Message for Adults,” Los Angeles Times, August 30, 1971.
62. Ibid.
63. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 212.
64. Jeff Lyon, “Writing for Adults, It Seems, Is One of Dr. Seuss’s Dreams,” Chicago Tribune, April 15, 1982.
65. Barbara Zimmers, “Trash Is My Bag,” Jackson Hole News, September 30, 1971.
66. Alison Lurie, “The Cabinet of Dr. Seuss,” New York Review of Books, December 20, 1990.
67. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 278.
68. Cott, “The Good Dr. Seuss.”
69. Lyon, “Writing for Adults, It Seems, Is One of Dr. Seuss’s Dreams.”
70. Janet Schulman and Cathy Goldsmith, eds., Your Favorite Seuss (New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2004), 190.
Chapter 15. You’ll Miss the Best Things If You Keep Your Eyes Shut
1. William Robbins, “Random House Will Leave Mansion for a Skyscraper,” New York Times, August 19, 1968.
2. The New York Times mistakenly reported that he was in attendance.
3. Henry Raymont, “Cerf Rites Draw Friends of 2 ‘Worlds,’” New York Times, September 10, 1971.
4. Judith Morgan and Neil Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: A Biography (New York: Random House, 1995), 216.
5. Ibid., 218.
6. Michael Frith, interview with the author.
7. Michael Frith, e-mail to the author, September 25, 2018.
8. Michael Frith, interview with the author.
9. George Kane, “And, Dear Dr. Seuss, the Whole World’s in Love with Yeuss,” Rocky Mountain News, February 15, 1976.
10. Michael Frith, interview with the author.
11. Digby Diehl, “Q&A: Dr. Seuss,” Los Angeles Times West, September 17, 1972.
12. Michael Frith, interview with the author.
13. Jo-Ann Greene, “Illustrator Roy McKie Recalls His Collaboration with Late Dr. Seuss,” Publishers Weekly, February 23, 2013.
14. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 220.
15. Clarke Williamson, “Grinding Your Ax Softly on TV,” Paducah Sun (Paducah, KY), April 9, 1972.
16. See press release “Anti-Litter Organization Gives Award to Dr. Seuss,” November 12, 1971, Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College.
17. Robert Bernstein, Speaking Freely: My Life in Publishing and Human Rights (New York: New Press, 2016), 63.
18. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 216.
19. “She Brings Colour to Seuss Books,” Evening Post (NZ), May 10, 1976.
20. Jonathan Cott, “The Good Dr. Seuss,” in Pipers at the Gates of Dawn: The Wisdom of Children’s Literature (New York: Random House, 1983).
21. Beverly Beyette, “Seuss: New Book on the Tip of His Tongue,” Los Angeles Times, May 29, 1979.
22. Art Buchwald, “Richard M. Nixon Will You Please Go Now,” Washington Post, July 30, 1974.
23. Helen Paske, “How Dr. Seuss Helped Art Oust Dick,” Sunday Times (New Zealand), May 9, 1976.
24. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 221.
25. Colin Dangaard, “Dr. Seuss Reigns Supreme as King of the Kids,” Boston Herald American, November 21, 1976.
26. While Geisel had collaborated with plenty of other illustrators, none of those books were credited as being written by Dr. Seuss; they were LeSieg books or, more recently, Rosetta Stone.
27. Michael Frith, interview with the author.
28. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 225.
29. Cott, “The Good Dr. Seuss.”
30. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 231.
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid., 227.
33. Joyce Wadler, “Public Lives: Mrs. Seuss Hears a Who, and Tells About It,” New York Times, November 29, 2000.
34. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 230–31.
35. Ursula Vils, “Dr. Seuss: A Message for Adults,” Los Angeles Times, August 30, 1971.
36. Donald Freeman, “Dr. Seuss at 72—Going Like 60,” The Saturday Evening Post, March 1, 1977; www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2016/02/dr-seuss-72-going-like-60/.
37. Digby Diehl, “Q&A: Dr. Seuss,” Los Angeles Times West, September 17, 1972.
38. Dangaard, “Dr. Seuss Reigns Supreme as King of the Kids.”
39. “She Brings Colour to Seuss Books.”
40. “‘Somebody’s Got to Win’ in Kids’ Books . . .”
41. Neil Mercer, “The Wacky World of Dr. Seuss,” West Australian (Perth, Australia), May 16, 1976.
42. Jack Webb, “Dr. Seuss Has a House on a Hill and 100 Hats Without Any Cats,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 11, 1974.
43. Elizabeth B. Moje and Woan-Ru Shyu, “Oh, the Places You’ve Taken Us: The Reading Teacher’s Tribute to Dr. Seuss,” The Reading Teacher, May 1992.
44. See Elma Otto to E.C. Lathem, October 30, 1975, Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College.
45. Freeman, “Dr. Seuss at 72.”
46. Kane, “And, Dear Dr. Seuss, the Whole World’s in Love with Yeuss.”
47. Cott, “The Good Dr. Seuss.”
48. Dangaard, “Dr. Seuss Reigns Supreme as King of the Kids.”
49. “Just What the Doctor Ordered . . . Green Eggs and Ham for the Cat in the Hat,” Star Sports & Magazine, May 8, 1976, unattributed clipping, Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
50. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 227.
51. “She Brings Colour to Seuss Books.”
52. See TSG notes on Australian trip, 1976, Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
53. See the Christchurch Star (Christchurch, NZ), May 8, 1976, and North Shore Times Advertiser (Auckland, NZ), May 6, 1976, Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
54. See TSG itinerary, Australian trip, 1976, Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
55. “She Brings Colour to Seuss Books.”
56. “The World Loves His Zany Characters,” Standard News Advertiser (Southland, NZ), June 2, 1976.
57. Ibid.
58. “Do You Like Green Eggs and Ham . . . ?” The Press (Christchurch, NZ), May 6, 1976.
59. “Dr. Seuss Flies o
n for Crusade,” Melbourne Sun (Australia), May 10, 1976.
60. “‘I Can’t Draw—I Just Doodle’ Claims Dr. Seuss in the City,” Christchurch Star (New Zealand), May 6, 1976.
61. Mike Gibson, “How Dr. Seuss Got Rid of Richard Nixon,” Sydney Sun (Australia), May 11, 1976.
62. “Do You Like Green Eggs and Ham . . . ?”
63. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 232.
64. Donald Freeman, “Dr. Seuss from Then to Now,” San Diego Magazine, May 1986.
65. “Phyllis Jackson, 69, Agent for Many Major Writers at Two Talent Companies,” New York Times, March 22, 1977.
66. TSG, cited in Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 233–34.
67. Cott, “The Good Dr. Seuss.”
68. Cynthia Gorney, “Dr. Seuss at 75: Grinch, Cat in the Hat, Wocket and Generations of Kids in His Pocket,” Washington Post, May 21, 1979.
69. Eugene Hotchkiss III, “Dr. Seuss Keeps Me Guessing,” The Humanity Initiative, 2004. Retrieved at www.humanity.org/voices/commencements/dr.seuss-geisel-lake-forest-college-speech-1977.
70. Cited in Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 214.
71. Ibid.
72. Digby Diehl, “Q&A: Dr. Seuss.”
73. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 219.
74. Judith Frutig, “Dr. Seuss’s Green-Eggs-and-Ham World,” Christian Science Monitor, May 12, 1978.
75. See TSG, I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! (New York: Random House, 1978).
76. Judith Frutig, “Dr. Seuss’s Green-Eggs-and-Ham World.”
77. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 246.
78. TSG, quoted in Philip Nel, Dr. Seuss: American Icon (New York: Continuum, 2004), 16.
79. TSG, “Small Epic Poem (Size 2¾ B),” The San Diego Union, June 19, 1978.
80. “Dr. Seuss: Rhymes and Reasons,” Biography, A&E Television, Peter Jones Productions, November 30, 2003.
Chapter 16. A Few Years Longer
1. Cynthia Gorney, “Dr. Seuss at 75: Grinch, Cat in the Hat, Wocket and Generations of Kids in His Pocket,” Washington Post, May 21, 1979.
2. Ibid.
3. The most common form letter was a pre-printed Cat Note reading: “Dear ____. Your letter made me and my cat very happy. Thanks and best wishes from your friend, Dr. Seuss.” A second—also signed by Dr. Seuss—featured a creature with enormous fuzzy ears, apologizing that he has 30,0000 animals that all need their whiskers clipped, which was taking all his time. The third, signed by the Cat in the Hat, read: “Dr. Seuss is out of town. . . . building something called a Thnidd, and until the Thnidd is finished, I am answering all of Dr. Seuss’s mail.”
4. TSG to David Reid, December 26, 1979, Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
5. Helen Paske, “Does Dr. Seuss Live Here?” Sunday Times (NZ), May 9, 1976.
6. Judith Morgan and Neil Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel (New York: Random House, 1995), 236.
7. Sybil Steinberg, “What Makes a Funny Children’s Book?” Publishers Weekly, February 27, 1978.
8. Beverly Beyette, “Seuss: New Book on the Tip of His Tongue,” Los Angeles Times, May 29, 1979.
9. Ibid.
10. TSG, Oh Say Can You Say? (New York: Random House, 1979).
11. Beyette, “Seuss: New Book on the Tip of His Tongue.”
12. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 240.
13. Gorney, “Dr. Seuss at 75.”
14. Beyette, “Seuss: New Book on the Tip of His Tongue.”
15. Ibid.
16. Donald Freeman, “Dr. Seuss at 72—Going Like 60,” Saturday Evening Post, March 1, 1977.
17. Sam Burchell, “Architectural Digest Visits Dr. Seuss,” Architectural Digest, December 1978.
18. Gorney, “Dr. Seuss at 75.”
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid.
21. Mike Steeler, “Children’s Theatre Coup: Seuss Work Adapted for Stage,” Minneapolis Tribune, April 20, 1980.
22. Peter Vaughan, “Young Playwright Doctors Seuss Book,” Minneapolis Star, April 18, 1980.
23. Carole Nelson, “Kids All Know Who Dr. Seuss Is; His Books Rhyme, and No Excuses,” untitled clip, circa April 1980, Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
24. “Seuss’ ‘500 Hats’ Made Magical,” St. Paul Sunday Pioneer Press, April 20, 1980; Peter Vaughan, “For Heady Fun, Try ‘500 Hats,’” Minneapolis Star, April 22, 1980.
25. For a reflection on TSG’s views on posterity, see Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 266.
26. Jonathan Cott, “The Good Dr. Seuss,” in Pipers at the Gates of Dawn: The Wisdom of Children’s Literature (New York: Random House,1983).
27. Charlotte Leonard, “. . . And the Very Deserving Winner Is . . . Dr. Seuss,” The Journal Herald (Dayton, OH), February 9, 1980.
28. Joan Weller, “Dr. Seuss Finally Makes It with Award from Librarians,” Ottawa Journal, March 10, 1980.
29. Description of award taken from American Library Association website. Retrieved at www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/clla/about. The award would be renamed the Children’s Literature Legacy Award in 2018.
30. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 241.
31. Mike Salzhauer, “A Carnival Cavort with Dr. Seuss,” Dartmouth Review, February 2, 1981.
32. Jeff Lyon, “Writing for Adults, It Seems, Is One of Dr. Seuss’s Dreams,” Chicago Tribune, April 15, 1982.
33. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 229.
34. “Dr. Seuss: Rhymes and Reasons,” Biography, A&E Television, Peter Jones Productions, November 30, 2003.
35. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 244.
36. Mary S. Reed, “Titles for Youngsters and Yuletide,” Jackson Sun (Jackson, TN), November 18, 1982.
37. Lyon, “Writing for Adults . . .”
38. Gordon Smith, “Children’s Writers Worry as Publishers Play It Safe,” Los Angeles Times, December 10, 1982.
39. Ibid.
40. “‘Somebody’s Got to Win’ in Kids’ Books: An Interview with Dr. Seuss on His Books for Children, Young and Old,” U.S. News & World Report, April 14, 1986.
41. Smith, “Children’s Writers Worry as Publishers Play It Safe.”
42. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 248.
43. Ibid., 259.
44. Carla Waldemar, “Yes, There Really Is a Dr. Seuss,” Twin Cities Readers, April 24, 1980.
45. Cott, “The Good Dr. Seuss.”
46. Ibid.
47. “Dr. Seuss Remembered,” Publishers Weekly, October 25, 1991.
48. TSG, The Butter Battle Book (New York: Random House, 1984).
49. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 250.
50. Jonathan Freedman, “Nearing 80, Dr. Seuss Still Thrills Young, Old,” San Diego Union, February 24, 1984.
51. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 250.
52. Ibid., 251.
53. Ibid.
54. Ibid., 252.
55. Ibid.
56. Ibid., 249.
57. Ed Koch to TSG, March 2, 1984, Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
58. Eden Ross Lipson, “Children’s Books: Dr. Seuss’ Bleak Polemic,” New York Times, February 26, 1984.
59. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 253.
60. Ellen Goodman, “Dr. Seuss Needs a Good Dose of Hope,” Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY), April 24, 1984.
61. Ibid.
62. Jennifer Crichton, “Dr. Seuss Turns 80,” Publishers Weekly, February 10, 1984.
63. Kathy Hacker, “The Ordinary Guise of the Extraordinary Dr. Seuss,” San Francisco Examiner, April 18, 1984.
64. Rick Wilson, “A Chilling Message for Adults Wrapped in the Guise of Children’s Literature,”
Times Herald (Port Huron, MI), April 29, 1984.
65. “Dr. Seuss: Rhymes and Reasons” documentary.
66. Colin Dangaard, “Dr. Seuss Reigns Supreme as King of the Kids,” Boston Herald American, November 21, 1976.
Chapter 17. Off and Away
1. “4 papers win 2 Pulitzers each, ‘Ironweed’ is favored in fiction,” Baltimore Sun, April 17, 1984.
2. David Shaw, “Times Gets Public Service Pulitzer; Conrad Also Wins,” Los Angeles Times, April 16, 1984.
3. “‘Dr. Seuss’ Wins Special Pulitzer Citation,” Ithaca Journal, April 17, 1984.
4. “‘Dr. Seuss’ Calls Pulitzer Citation ‘Amazing,’” Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, WI), April 17, 1984.
5. Judith Morgan and Neil Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: A Biography (New York: Random House, 1995), 255.
6. Michael Frith, interview with the author.
7. “‘Dr. Seuss’ Calls Pulitzer Citation ‘Amazing.’”
8. “Dr. Seuss: Pulitzer Triumph in Battle Against Illiteracy,” Town Talk (Alexandria, LA), April 17, 1984.
9. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 261.
10. Jay Mathews, “Dr. Seuss: His New Book Is for Adults . . . and About Himself,” Washington Post, March 2, 1986.
11. Melissa Balmain, “Princeton Awards 1,599 Degrees,” Central New Jersey Home News (New Brunswick, NJ), June 12, 1985.
12. Melissa Weiner, “Dr. Seuss Brightens Princeton Ceremony,” Philadelphia Inquirer, June 12, 1985.
13. “Dr. Seuss: Rhymes and Reasons,” Biography, A&E Television, Peter Jones Productions, November 30, 2003.
14. David W. Dunlop, “Waiting in Fotta-fa-Zee,” New York Times Book Review, March 23, 1986.
15. TSG, back cover copy to You’re Only Old Once!
16. Michael Frith, interview with the author.
17. “Dr. Seuss Remembered,” Publishers Weekly, October 25, 1991.
18. Dr. Seuss, Dr. Seuss from Then to Now: A Catalogue of the Retrospective (New York: Random House, 1987), 65.
19. Morgan and Morgan, Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel, 266.
20. See Mathews, “Dr. Seuss.”
21. See Random House newspaper ads, such as Los Angeles Times Book Review, March 2, 1986.
22. Donald Freeman, “Dr. Seuss from Then to Now,” San Diego Magazine, May 1986.
23. “Book Report: Hailing Dr. Seuss,” Washington Post, March 23, 1986.
Becoming Dr. Seuss Page 53
