There used to be a time, oh so long ago, don’t you know, in which little beeblegals and beebleboys loved to rhyme and learn and be on the go go go! They heard who’s and whose and thems and theys, wrote Y’s and asked whys, and everything turned out great. And in the interest of full disclosure, those two sentences took much longer than they should’ve to be composed.
And while I might be relatively happy with their silliness and quasi-functional rhyme scheme, there was a man, not so long ago, who made this type of “nonsense” a work of art in its visual and aural aesthetics and surreptitiously taught legions of kids how to read and comprehend. The Cat in Hat, Horton, Yertle the Turtle, the Lorax, Bartholomew Cubbins and the ever so misunderstood Grinch have become integral threads in the fabrics of our lives.
Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Theo LeSieg, aka Rosetta Stone, and most lovingly known as Dr. Seuss, was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. The American master of the anapestic tetrameter, Dr. Seuss’ life was invariably touched by Prohibition, both World Wars and the political agendas of his time. There will be many in the context-devoid, PC-ness of our era who’ll point out some moral blind spots to his work but even now, on what would have been his 115 birthday, the venerable Doctor’s canon holds true.
In celebration of his life and the amazing literature he left behind, the Miami Children’s Museum will honor his legacy with a full day of “Seussical fun… with a slew of themed games, art projects, and original theater performances as well as face painting and balloon twisting.” As well as local celebrity readers like Superbowl Champion Antrel Rolle, NBC6’s Roxanne Vargas, Hits 97.3’s Kimmy B, journalist Andrea Minski and more, bringing some of the most popular titles to life!
Fun for the whole family, expect appearances by characters and birthday cake… perhaps the Cat himself will dole out some of his notorious hijinks for the little ones, who knows?! (Well, maybe Sylvester McMonkey McBean or the naïve alces alces landlord Thidwick; only one way to find out).
Celebrate Dr. Seuss’ 115 Birthday on Tuesday, March 5 at the Miami Children’s Museum. Free admission from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. For more information, please visit miamichildrensmuseum.org.
