Dr. Seuss from Then to Now [Hardcover]

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Random House (Merchandising) (August 1987)
• ISBN-10: 0394892666
• ISBN-13: 978-0394892665
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,864,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"A person's a person, no matter how small," Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, would say. "Children want the same things we want. To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and delighted."

Brilliant, playful, and always respectful of children, Dr. Seuss charmed his way into the consciousness of four generations of youngsters and parents. In the process, he helped millions of kids learn to read.

Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1925, he went to Oxford University, intending to acquire a doctorate in literature. At Oxford, Geisel met Helen Palmer, whom he wed in 1927. Upon his return to America later that year, Geisel published cartoons and humorous articles for Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at that time. His cartoons also appeared in major magazines such as Life, Vanity Fair, and Liberty. Geisel gained national exposure when he won an advertising contract for an insecticide called Flit. He coined the phrase, "Quick, Henry, the Flit!" which became a popular expression.

Geisel published his first children's book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, in 1937, after 27 publishers rejected it.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, an Academy Award, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Caldecott Honors, Geisel wrote and illustrated 44 books. While Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Seuss history to accompany touring art collection in 80s, January 5, 1998

By 

"wmbeaver" (Rome, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dr. Seuss from Then to Now (Hardcover)

While poking through books on the closeout table at my local bookstore, I uncovered this treasure. The multicolored collage cover grabbed my eye. The thin book, it turns out, isn't any new work by Dr. Suess at all, but a very nice book published to accompany a touring art exhibit of the good doctor's work in the mid 1980's. The introduction and forward key on reasons why we love Dr. Seuss. He allows us to learn yet go "against the conventional grain" with his fantastic, yet strangely thematic imaginary world of characters. This book essentially gives historical background to the pieces I assume were in the exhibit. The book makes me really wish I had gotten the opportunity to see what I'm sure was a great display. There are some black and white prints of early sketches, along with some watercolor prints of Seuss' later work. The book spends alot of time showing the reader (or gallery visitor) the step-by-step process Dr. Seuss went through to put together "Oh, The Places You'll Go," and "You're Only Old Once." The text and artwork are engaging and quite interesting to read, and it follows a simple chronological order spanning Seuss' career. I enjoyed the book, as it gave me greater insight into the artist and his lifelong work, and it encouraged me to begin seriously collecting Seuss' books and videos. However, I was disappointed to later find that this book mentioned very little of Seuss' collaborative works he wrote using the name Theo. LeSieg (Theodore Geisel in reverse). Those works are just as creative and yet they were slighted by this text. It makes me wonder if LeSieg pieces were left out of the touring art exhibit as well. Overall, if you are looking for a solid biography of Seuss, this is not the book you want. But if you are fascinated by his thinking and creative processes, in step-by-step format, this is a book you should definitely add to your collection. And good luck hunting for it. You might want to start at Aunt Edna's yard sale. For that matter, beat the crowds by volunteering to clean out her attic this spring. You may find a few other Seuss treasures!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It all starts with Dr. Suess...., June 24, 2003

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Dr. Seuss from Then to Now: A Catalogue of the Retrospective Exhibition (Hardcover)

This is an excellent retrospective of the art of Dr. Suess (Theodor Geisel), published for the first major exhibition of his work in 1986. Written before his untimely death, it covers everything from his earliest student sketch books to _You're Only Old Once!_.

While the cleverness of the good doctor's prose is sampled, it is really his artwork that steals the show. The book is filled with both glorious full color, as well as black and white, examples. There are also reproductions of most of the cover illustrations. The truly rare aspect of this book though, is the biographical insights that it gives into the artist's life. The struggles that he went through with underemployment and just trying to survive in the 1930's are especially inspiring these days.

It is fascinating to see the artist's early magazine (Judge and Life) and advertising work (Flit and Esso.) The only noticable omission is his early Hollywood collaboration. There is absolutely no mention of the early Horton cartoons, or of "5000 Fingers of Dr. T."

I especially enjoyed this book because of an incident that happened to me in grade school. I was always fascinated by the art in these books, but when I tried to look at them in third grade, I was told that I couldn't because they were below my "age level." That is a lie, these books, and this art, transcend any bureaucratic, mindless, age grouping. They are ageless and timeless.