Module 12 The Boy on Fairfield Street

Summary: This is the first picture book biography of  Ted Geisel aka Dr.Seuss. It is about his childhood and how he was inspired to become the famous author and illustrator that he came to be.  It also informs us as to why he went by his pen name of Dr. Seuss instead of his German name, Ted Geisel. 

Krull, K. (2004). The boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel grew up to become Dr. Seuss. New York: Random House.

My Impressions: I learned more about Dr. Seuss in this short picture book than I did when I read some of his other biographies.  He was just young boy that did not fit it, was picked on because he was German, and decided to do what made him happy. I thought it was really interesting that his unique and exaggerated animal illustrations came to him because of his dad working at a zoo.

Professional Review:

“Once upon a time, there lived a boy who feasted on books and was wild about animals.” So begins this young biography of Dr. Seuss. Taunted at school because he was German, his escapes were drawing, the comics he loved, and the zoo, where his father was the parks superintendent in Springfield, Mass. His high-school art teacher warned him he’d never be successful at art; in Dartmouth he was voted “Class Artist and Class Wit,” and he left Oxford to draw and write verse. Truly only about his youth, the narrative ends at age 22, when Seuss goes to New York City to launch his career. Four following pages provide a synopsis of his life and a timeline up to his death in 1991. Bordered, full-page oil-on-gessoed-paper illustrations evoke pertinent scenes, while spot art of Seuss drawings dot the opposite pages. Some of these original images are absolutely haunting; the magic of his name will make this a huge hit, but it’s the lively writing that puts the hat on the cat. (bibliography, citations, Web sites) (Picture book/biography. 7-11)

[Review of The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel grew up to become Dr. Seuss]. (2003, December 15).Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/childrens-books/kathleen-krull/the-boy-on-fairfield-street/?spdy=2004

Library Use: This would make for a great storytime during Dr. Seuss week.  Most kids  nowadays are familiar with Dr. Seuss and his books, but hardly anybody knows his real name or his real story.