A person's a person no matter how small.

Dr. Seuss is one of two authors that made me love to read.  (The other was Roald Dahl.)  I struggled to learn to read -- I was a low reader through first and second grade -- but when I got it, when it clicked, I read everything.  And I haven't really stopped since.  Loving to read has changed the course of my life and currently I spend my days, largely, trying to convince 23 second graders to love to read as much as I do, because I know it will change their lives too.  Thankfully, I have Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl and Jon Scieszka and James Marshall and Giles Andreae and about a thousand other fantastic authors to help me along the way.

In a crowd of giants, Dr. Seuss stands the tallest to me.  I love him, not just because Green Eggs and Ham is inspired by my hometown -- Hanover, New Hampshire -- but because his wit and humanity shines through in all his writing.  Dr. Seuss teaches us to care about our environment, not to be racist, to believe in our dreams and to love the people around us.  Today would have been Dr. Seuss' 108th birthday and is a holiday in hundreds of thousands of school across America.  In my classroom, we'll be eating green eggs and ham (technically turkey bacon because I'm not allow to serve ham to students) and talking about our favorite books.  For those of you who don't spend the day with seven and eight year olds, here's an opportunity for you to celebrate at your desks with the wise words of the great doctor.

xo kate