Post by Mark T. Locker.

Last week was the 111th birthday of Dr. Seuss, probably the most beloved and easily identified of all American picture book creators. Educators and librarians everywhere go crazy for Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Out come those gigantic Cat in the Hat red and white hats. Off the shelves come all the Seuss books; I believe there are at least 60. I’ll bet a few Dr. Seuss look-alikes get pulled as well. There are a bunch of those. At my son’s school, he got to dress in pajamas and a robe, and carry around a stuffed animal. Or in his case, a stuffed robot. Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, How the Grinch Stole Christmas are all top contenders for top Seuss books. Though in our family, we have our own favorites. The kids in class had the option to bring their favorite Dr. Seuss book, which in our case was a toss-up between The Sneetches and Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? The latter won in the end, even though the other stories in The Sneetches are amazing. Included are “Too Many Daves” in which the woman with a ton of sons regrets naming them all Dave. Seuss offers some names she could have chosen instead. My favorite is Marvin O’Gravel Balloon Face. My son’s favorite is Oliver Tolliver Butt. No mystery why.

Also included is “What Was I Scared Of?” I’ll tell you what he was scared of: a pair of pale green pants with nobody inside them! I would be too. Even if it turns out that they are as scared of you as you are of them. Dr. Seuss’s birthday may have already passed, but there’s no reason you can’t go check out all 60+ of his books and bring them all into bed with you tonight to cover you in a big, heavy blanket of Seuss-y goodness.