Dr. Seuss’ birthday time to celebrate, green eggs optional

They gathered together, the big and the small

to honor a guy they think 10 feet tall.

No king, no actor, no guy with a rival,

but, rather, a writer with the odd name of Geisel.

Or Seuss, as he’s probably known to you,

with “Doctor” in front, toodle-le-do-do-do.

His birthday party, which the children were holding,

was big and glorious with kids’ faces glowing.

What’s the appeal, the weird stranger asked,

of this man named Seuss, who created the Lorax,

and the Grinch, and Yertle and the Cat in the Hat, too,

and words like “flunnel” and “sneedle” that nobody would use?

And drawings of people who can’t possibly be

but who still look charming, and like many we see.

Why, the guy wondered, is this fellow named Seuss

cooler than the me’s and the thems and even the youses?

OK, so it wasn’t Dr. Seuss’ actual birthday — that wouldn’t come until March 2, six days later — but it was a good enough time for a Seussian celebration at Doolittle Community Center anyway.

And what a party it was. There were goodie bags for the guests — this year, kindergarten students from Rainbow Dreams Academy and Kelly Elementary School — music, dancing and, best of all, readings of two classic Seuss stories, “There’s a Wocket In My Pocket” and “Green Eggs and Ham.”

It was nothing less than, as Lakeisha Dickens, Doolittle senior community program specialist, put it, “Seussville.”

The Seuss birthday celebration is an annual event at the center, Dickens said. “We do it the Thursday before as a kind of kickoff.”

The party also serves as a segue into Nevada Reading Week, which started Monday and runs to Friday. And if it accomplished nothing else, the party offered conclusive proof that Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, is as relevant, as beloved and as entertaining as he ever was.

During the spirited readings by Monica Terreros and Cristina Giannone, youth services assistants at West Las Vegas Library, children laughed heartily at the silly words in “There’s A Wocket In My Pocket” and answered lustily the central question of “Green Eggs and Ham.”

Would they eat green eggs and ham in a car or on a train or in the dark or with a mouse?

“Nooo … ” they yelled, even as one boy felt compelled to offer a potential spoiler.

“He’s gonna like ’em,” the boy predicted.

Giannone said Seuss books always work well for story hours and read-aloud occasions. Kids like the strange words and odd illustrations, she noted, adding, “I think kids like to use their imaginations.”

So why do kids, even kids who are old,

love Seuss’ books, which they treasure like gold?

Is it the words or the pictures or the nonsense within,

or, maybe, quite simply, that Seuss gives us a grin?

“There’s just so much about Dr. Seuss that we, as children’s librarians, love,” said Shana Harrington, youth services department head at Sunrise Library.

“First of all, there’s the connection between parents and children,” Harrington said, as parents who read the books as kids now share them with their own kids.

“I see parents all the time who are, like, ‘Oh, I remember reading “Yertle the Turtle” when I was a kid. Do you have that? I want to share that with my child. They’re old enough now.’ It’s so neat to see that connection.”

Then, there’s Seuss’ wit and wordplay, and illustrations that seem to be not part of this world yet so much of it. Dickens said she didn’t read Seuss until, “and this is so embarrassing, when I was 12. I had heard of Dr. Seuss but had never read a book. But when I was 12, I was exposed to it, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is cool.’”

“It was just the simplicity of it, and it was a good way to teach.”

And, underneath it all, is a facility for language that many can imitate but few can master.

“It’s, like, how does he make it seem so easy?” Dickens said. “I didn’t read ‘There’s a Wocket In My Pocket’ until they said it was what they were going to read today, and I would never have thought to make up those words.”

Nyree Clark, a student at Rainbow Dreams Academy, called Seuss “my favorite.”

Why? “He does funny stuff,” said Nyree, adding that “Green Eggs and Ham” is her favorite Seuss book.

Nathaniel Smith, also of Rainbow Dreams Academy, agreed. Why does he like “Green Eggs and Ham” best?

“Well, I have the book,” he said.

Nor are older kids immune from the doctor’s literary charms. Giannone said Seuss’ books are “so much fun to read,” with characters and illustrations that “make it fun.”

“I just love the writing, and the silly words and the characters,” Terreros said.

“I love Dr. Seuss,” said Randy Black, a physical education teacher at Rainbow Dreams Academy (favorite Seuss book: “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish”).

Black’s introduction to Seuss came when he was about 4. “I was living in Kentucky at the time, and my mom got me the whole series,” he recalled.

Black liked the characters and the illustrations. But, he added, “I think his writing is a lot like music, and all generations feel his writing. It’s timeless. It doesn’t matter how old you are. (The words) make you smile.”

Trine Morris is wearing a Cat in the Hat costume. Morris, Doolitle customer service representative, remembers her favorite Seuss book, “Green Eggs and Ham,” by heart and how her mother made green eggs and chicken (she didn’t eat ham) every year on Seuss’ birthday.

So why the costume? “I’m the tallest female on staff,” she said, smiling. “I fit the outfit.”

While we take him for granted now, Seuss was a pioneer in children’s literature. It was Seuss who “got us out of the monotonous Dick and Jane books,” Harrington said. “Dr. Seuss really thought outside the box. He wanted us to really play with language and love language.”

The enduring appeal of Seuss lies in “his language,” Harrington said. “It’s his storytelling. It’s his sense of fun.”

But Seuss wasn’t averse to slipping a note of seriousness into the silliness. “The Lorax” offers a pro-environment message, Harrington noted, while “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” is a Seuss volume that “people give as high school and graduation gifts. So, again, there’s that multigenerational component it has.”

“There are so many different things Dr. Seuss represents,” Harrington said. “That’s why we celebrate him every year, and I think we will for generations to come.”

So we celebrate Seuss yet again on his birth,

Though Dr. Seuss Day is any day that fans read his work.

So happy birthday Doctor, and thank you once more,

for the fun you’ve given us, and the silliness adored.

And while any imitation of Seuss must be, sadly, second-rate,

we hope he’s reading and thinks all of this at least one-eighth great.

Read more from John Przybys at reviewjournal.com. Contact him at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com and follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter.