Dr. Seuss

Explore the many hats of Dr. Seuss

Artist and community activist

In addition to his book illustrations, Ted Geisel painted regularly and was an accomplished artist. He often told young artists to "paint at least one picture a month that is just for fun." For inspiration, have a look at the art Geisel created to please himself in The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss (Random House, 1995).

Geisel was also involved in the betterment of the La Jolla/San Diego (California) community and lobbied for a local billboard ban; served as a trustee to the San Diego Fine Arts Museum and La Jolla Town Council; and was a member of Citizens United, a panel dedicated to civic improvement.

Gardener and environmentalist

Ted Geisel often took an afternoon walk through his garden at his home in La Jolla, California. He believed gardening to be another form of art and enjoyed creating a relaxed, lush outdoor environment to share with his family and friends.

Ted was also concerned about the environment as a whole, and wanted to make the world aware of the consequences of indifference to nature. The result of his concerns was The Lorax (Random House, 1971) a book that has inspired generations to conservation.

Film maker, big AND small screen

During World War II, Ted Geisel served in the U.S. Army in Frank Capra's Signal Corps, and worked on making movies relevant to the war effort. While serving, he was introduced to animation by animator Chuck Jones and developed a series of animated training films for Army troops. He also wrote scripts for live-action films for American military forces. Two of these films were later developed into Academy Award winning documentaries.

Following the war, Ted's interest in Hollywood continued, and the friendships he made in the Army led to more big and small screen productions, including the 1951 Academy Award winning cartoon, Gerald McBoing Boing and television favorites like How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

This article was taken from the NEA website.

Find it at: http://www.nea.org/readacross/resources/manyhatsseuss.html