Theodore "Dr. Suess" Geisel was much more than a children's book author. A walk through the many surprising phases of Theodore "Dr. Suess" Geisel's career.

1. Oh, the
things
that he
did
Theodore
Geisel:
Concept, text ©2022 Craig McNamara | craigmwriter.com

2. You know Theodore Geisel better as Dr. Suess, children’s book author.
But he was much more than that …

3. He was constantly channeling his creativity in new and surprising ways ...
from satire, to illustration, to fine art, to animation and movies ... and more.

4. Phase 1:
Meet Dr. Suess

5. Early 1920s
Theodore Geisel began as illustrator for magazines in the early‘20s,
his quirky style already in evidence.

6. Early 1920s
First use of his pseudonym – combining his mother’s maiden name and
his father’s (unfufilled) hope that he would earn a doctorate from Oxford.

7. 1929
Suess’ fascination with word play develops in essays in Judge, including
“The Tough Coughs as he Ploughs The Dough” (reissued in 1987).

8. 1935
He creates a short-lived newspaper comic strip, about a young man’s
journeys in the surreal mountaintop land of Baako.

9. Phase 2:
The Original Mad Man

10. 1928
Seuss’s gag cartoon involving a dragon and Flit insect repellent; it was seen
by the wife of an executive whose ad agency handled the Flit account …

11. Late 1920s
… and the McCann agency hired Dr. Suess to create ads for them
during the next 7 years.

12. 1930s
Dr. Suess began a second career in advertising … for Holly Sugar …

13. 1930s
For Essolube motor oil …

14. 1949
… and Ford Motors and Schaefer Beer.

15. Phase 3:
The Imagination Engine

16. 1936
As the story goes, while riding a tramp steam across the Atlantic, the
pounding of the engines put a cadence in his head …

17. … that he realized would be the perfect rhythm for a children’s book.

18. 1936
… Leading to his first book being published. However, the next book he
published wasn’t a children’s book…

19. Phase 4:
The Surprising Satirist

20. 1939
His satirical take on the Lady Godiva story didn’t sell. But it did show that
Suess wasn’t interested in being pigeon-holed as a children’s book author.

21. Early 1940s
His next career step was into editorial cartooning, often commenting on
the march of Hitler across Europe and the US refusing to get involved.

22. 1942
After the U.S. entered World War II, the Treasury Department and the War
Production Board commissioned Suess to create war bond posters.

23. 1970s/1980s
He would later pepper his children’s books with more overt messages on
topics like environmentalism, the Cold War, and even issues of aging.

24. Phase 5:
Hollywood Calling

25. 1943
During WWII, Suess wrote and produced informational films for the service
… including Private Snafu with Warner Brothers animator Chuck Jones…

26. Late 1940s
After the war, a story he sold to Capital Records about ”a little kid who didn’t
speak words, only noises” became an Oscar-winning animated cartoon.

27. 1951
He sold an idea to Hollywood, writing the script, lyrics and working on set
designs. He became frustrated with studio control; the movie bombed.

28. 1966
Chuck Jones convinced him to put “Dr. Suess” on television; after
presentations to 20 companies, one finally agreed to sponsor their special.

29. Phase 6:
Suess On The Loose

30. 1940s
After the war, he returned to writing children’s books. As a result of his
Horton book’s success, Suess threw himself into writing children’s books.

31. “...and then, just to
show them, I’d sail
to Ka-Troo,
and bring back an
It-Kutch, a Preep and
a Proo,
a Nerkle, a Nerd and
a Seersucker, too.”
1950
“If I Ran the Zoo” is where he committed to inventing new words and
creatures, and creating new sounds and rhythms.

32. 1954
“On Beyond Zebra” featured more new words and an entirely new 20-letter
alphabet, including letters like Yuzz and Thnad and Vroo.

33. Using
a
list
of
225
words
that
first-
graders
should
know…
1955
Challenged to use only 225 words, he picked two of them -- cat and hat – to
frame a story about defiance of authority and consequence-free fun.

34. 1957+
At his publisher’s urging, he started Beginner Books, a line of early-reader
books built around Suess’s works, including his all-time best-seller.

35. 1950s/1960s
More classic stories published.

36. 1965
The first ”Theo LeSeig” book – books written by, but not illustrated by him.
(Hence the inversion of his true last name, Geisel.)

37. 1968
The first of the Bright & Early Books, created for “pre-readers.”

38. Phase 7:
One Fine Artist

39. By the early 60s, he was painting each day as a release from the work
producing his other works. (Lots of paintings of cats, as you might guess.)

40. But he also depicted the world (as filtered through his sensibilities).

41. And more impressionistic paintings, too.

42. 1938+
He also created animal sculptures that brought his drawing style to
three-dimensional life, often using real horns, beaks, and antlers.

43. Phase 8:
The Doctor Is Out

44. 1990
His final book, bringing together many of the themes and characters he
used throughout his career; a perennial gift for graduates and newborns

45. 1991
Suess’s health worsened and he passed away on September 24, 1991
at the age of 87.