The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss - Softcover

Krull, Kathleen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0375855505 ISBN 13: 9780375855504

Publisher: Dragonfly Books, 2010

Synopsis

Award-winning author Kathleen Krull zeros in on the formative first 22 years of the life of Ted Geisel. This is the first picture book biography of Dr. Seuss, written especially for his young fans who want to know what made him tick. The animals in the zoo that his father ran and his fondness for drawing them, the injustices he suffered as the child of German immigrants, and his inherent sense of humor all fed into the imagination of this boy. He was a square peg in a round hole until he found that he could make a living doing exactly what he pleased—doodling and writing funny things about the world as he saw it.

The last section of the book outlines the important events in his adult life. In addition to the evocative paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, the book is profusely decorated with art from Dr. Seuss books.

About this title

Review:

Young doodlers and dreamers of the world, take heart--the famous Dr. Seuss, creator of Whos and Sneetches, was a doodler and dreamer, too. Kathleen Krull's engaging picture-book biography of Ted Geisel, the real Dr. Seuss, takes us from his early childhood on Fairfield Street in Springfield, Massachusetts, to the time when he's 22 years old in Greenwich Village and just starting to think he might make a go of it as a person who draws flying cows. Krull tells a lively story, carefully including details that help us understand how Seuss became Seuss, from playground injustice (Geisel was a German American and World War I loomed large) to his love for Krazy Kat comics.

Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher, who also illustrated Seuss's My Many Colored Days, cast Seuss's childhood in a nostalgic light with lovely, old-fashioned paintings. A four-page section in the back picks up Seuss's story again, taking us to 1937 when he launches his children's book career with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and all the way to his death in 1991. A complete list of Seuss's books and recommendations for further research closes this fascinating look at one of America's most beloved creators of children's books. (Ages 8 and older) --Karin Snelson

About the Author:

Kathleen Krull is the author of Harcourt’s popular “Lives of . . .” series and the award-winning Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman. The author lives in San Diego, CA.

Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher illustrated New York’s Bravest, My Many Colored Days, and other distinguished picture books. They live in Minneapolis, MN.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dragonfly Books
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0375855505
• ISBN 13: 9780375855504
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Johnson Steve, Fancher Lou