Open Book

 

If you think you know all there is to know about Dr. Seuss, you’re probably wrong. His first book, “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” was rejected 27 times before it was published. Two years ago, “Mulberry Street” was one of six books withdrawn for “hurtful and wrong portrayals of people.” Dr. Seuss’ publisher once bet him he couldn’t write a children’s book with fewer than 50 words. He won the bet by producing “Green Eggs and Ham.” Dr. Seuss owned a large collection of whacky hats. His favorite cure for writer’s block was to put one of them on before getting back to work. Dr. Seuss and his wife were unable to have children, so he invented an imaginary daughter. He named her Chrysanthemum-Pearl. And here’s the weirdest bit: if the way you pronounce Seuss rhymes with Zeus, you’re saying it wrong. Seuss was Theodore Geisel’s middle name. He and his family pronounced it “Soice.”