They read Dr. Seuss on his100th birthday. They read it in many special ways.
There is something about Dr. Seuss that is endearing to many people.
For Phoenix College communication professor Laura Galloway, it is the complete package.
"I love Dr. Seuss," she said.
Fueled by her love of the doctor, Galloway has organized celebrations of what would have been Dr. Seuss' birthday for the last five years.
Tuesday at Phoenix College's Bulpitt Auditorium she helped celebrate what would have been the acclaimed author's 100th birthday, or what longtime publisher of Dr. Seuss material Random House calls, "The Seussentenntial."
The celebration consisted of students and faculty clad in barbershop pole style hats reading Seuss' work to more than 40 people of all ages in several languages including Spanish, Bulgarian, and American Sign Language.
Dr. Seuss whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, began his career as a political cartoonist and advertiser. He later became interested in writing books that would help to teach children how to read.
His works, which include such classics as "The Cat In the Hat," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Green Eggs and Ham" captured the world's imagination.
The stories have been so popular that they have been adapted into nearly every form of media imaginable, including films, computer games and a Broadway musical, entitled "Seussical the Musical."
Many Seuss fans find that perhaps the most fun part of Dr. Seuss is the ability to pass on the joy of his books to a younger generation.
Mabel Osei-Sarto, a French-Canadian Phoenix College student, read her 8-year-old sister's copy of "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" in French.
Galloway, who said her favorite Seuss story is "My Many Colored Days," suggested "everyone go home, and find just one person that they could read to."
Galloway explained that this is "what Dr. Seuss would have wanted."
Reach the reporter at scott.buros@asu.edu.
