I have recently rediscovered my love for Dr Suess books. They communicate important (albeit hidden) messages through simple wording and quirky rhymes, and I feel like I am learning important life lessons as I get older from books that I read when I was younger.
More importantly, the pictures are big and colourful, and the wording is short and sweet. A nice break from dense, boring, pictureless documents I tend to read all day, everyday!
I have been been picking these books up for a steal, at about 3 dollars each from the local flea market in Geneva.
Here are a few examples of books and their (probable) meaning.
When we are stuck inside on a rainy day, it is important to have a wild imagination and concoct elaborate fantasties with your household cat as the lead role.
This is much better than playing video games.
You should be open to trying new things.
Persist with a strange looking and smelling dish, even if you think that it will a) be disgusting, b) poison you or c) both.
The Heads of State of Yooks and Zooks should have engaged in a three-legged race, rather than an arms race, to work together and overcome their differences.
This story is an example of your abilty to challenge the status quo and do things that may go against everything you are taught to be correct. Like extending the English alphabet after the letter ‘Z’. Why not?
This was published in 1950 and appears to be the first ever usage of the word nerd.
It seems that the debut of the word nerd is more important than the overall theme, which is that you should always use your imagination (and while you’re at it, stage a coup d’état on your local zoo and set the animals free).
If you do not have happy followers, you will not have a lasting leadership.
This book was modelled on the rise and fall of Nazi Germany under Hitler’s rule. Hitler is Yertle, the King of the Pond.
You are much better off facing your problems than running away from them and searching for Utopia.
So thank you Dr. Suess for your guidance on LIFE. Your stories, that I initially thought were limited to only odd animals, wacky rhymes and a strange selection of food items, are actually about so much more.
Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904-1991)
Deux Bob 