Yesterday, March 2nd, was famous children’s author Dr. Seuss’s birthday; he would have been 113 this year. This year his birthday coincided with UNESCO World Book Day in the UK (they have other holidays on April 23rd, which is when the rest of the world marks it, so for the UK it’s the first Thursday in March). I’m sure that Mr. Geisel would have approved.
Dr. Seuss’s birthday is a big thing for preschool children around here. Teachers generally spend at least a day focusing on his fabulous books; some even stretch it out into a whole week of activities. The environmental themes in The Lorax alone can spread to an entire sciene unit! I read all of the Dr. Seuss books as a child (except for the few that have been published since), and when the time came to read them to my own children, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. They have such great rhythm that I don’t mind reading them again and again. It’s a good thing, too, because when my kids like a book, I end up reading it until I could recite it in my sleep.
To celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday, I made Green Eggs and Ham for dinner. (I was going to read the book to my youngest as well, but apparently her teachers had beaten me to the punch, so we enjoyed Fox In Socks instead.) The eggs were simple scrambled eggs with grated cheddar cheese and a bit of chopped parsley, with a couple of drops of food colouring to provide the virulent green. I couldn’t figure out any way to safely turn the ham green, so I just cut slices of PC Free From Smoked Ham and dry-fried them in a non-stick pan. I also baked a loaf of Fast White Bread (2006 edition, page 597) and scooped some honeydew melon to supplement all that protein.
For dessert I made The Cat’s Hat Parfaits; you can find the recipe via Seussville.com. My kids loved it, and it’s a very healthy dessert (basically just berries and yogurt), so I didn’t mind serving it. In our house, dessert is generally reserved for special occasions.
Lastly, here are my Thing 1 and Thing 2. This picture is ancient now. They were so wee! I made the Thing 1 costume for the Halloween prior to that Dr. Seuss’s birthday, and I was lucky that it still fit in time for her to wear it to preschool. It’s an adapted Simplicity pajama pattern made from stretch cotton, and it was so comfy that she never tired of wearing it. The Thing 2 set was bought at Chapters before my Thing 2 was born.
Own Two Hands 