Did you know, did you?

Christian Century, March 23, 2004

DID YOU KNOW, DID YOU? Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), who would have celebrated his 100th birthday earlier this month, has sold over 500 million children's books, but he never had any children of his own. The classic Green Eggs and Ham resulted from a wager with his publisher who said he couldn't write a book using only 50 words.

The Cat in the Hat took a year to write. Twenty-seven publishers turned down his first book, but now his books occupy a dozen spots on Publisher Weekly's 100 best-selling children's books of all times. Anna Quindlen said Dr. Seuss would be remembered for the murder of "Dick and Jane," a "mercy killing of the highest order" (Daily Herald, March 2).