The Boy on Fairfield Street

I am an elementary school teacher in Santa Maria. Every year I am in charge of the Read Across America Day at our school. This book was the best book to read on this day! The teachers and kids enjoyed it. I would like to have gotten one for every teacher, maybe next year.

This is a wonderful biography to share with children and adults. A poll of any group of readers about their favorite books will ALWAYS come up with Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat. Ted Geisel's work is loved. Kathleen Krull describes the events in his early life that became part of his work and interests later. His lifelong love of animals, his shyness, his sense of justice and fairplay were outgrowths of his boyhood on Fairfield Street in Springfield, MA. Geisel's boyhood was filled with fun and adventure but he was always slightly out of step with the rest of the world. He was a kid who preferred drawing crazy animals to studying. As the son of German immigrants, he was mocked and bullied. He had a three-legged dog. He wrote and drew under pseudonyms. The book follows his childhood and college days and ends with Ted striking out on his own, as an illustrator and cartoonist in Greenwich Village. The paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher seem to just glow and invite the reader to keep turning the pages. I read this book to many classes as it was a Bluebonnet title but this is not a book you can just breeze though. There is much to discuss and digest. Without fail, the kids are outraged when Ted is shorted his medal for selling war bonds in an embarrassing presentation by former President Theodore Roosevelt. They are thrilled when Ted draws on the walls of his room and does NOT get in trouble. They examined the illustrations closely. I shared the book with at least 10 classes before I noticed (thanks to a sharp-eyed student) Ted's three legged dog is featured on the cover of the book. The kids also enjoyed picking out the tiny Seuss images on the corners of the pages. There is a comprehensive "rest of the story" at the end of the book with details about his later life. This is a lovely tribute to an American icon. If you know kids who are fans of books by Theodore Le Sieg (The Eye Book, The Foot Book, Ten Apples Up on Top, Wacky Wednesday) have them spell Le Sieg's name backwards after you finish this book.

It's hard to know where to place this biography of Ted Geisel: Boy On Fairfield Street reads with the action and drama of fiction, yet is a bona-fide account of how Geisel grew up to become Dr. Seuss. Paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher accompany a lively discussion of how Geisel got his ideas. Good reading skills or parental assistance required for this in-depth biographical survey.

Do you know a child who feels out of step with the rest of their class? How about one that seems to annoy their teacher because they see the world differently? This biography was made for them!Dr. Suess seemed to frustrate his teachers as his drawings were so different from all the other children in his class - in this book, readers will learn that he reveled in his uniqueness and embraced his unusual view of the world. As a result, he was able to find success as a cartoonist -- though it did take time.The biography isn't just for little kids, but could be gifted to any "child" who needs to feel proud of their uniqueness. Do you hear a drum beat that no one else can hear? Be glad you do -- you might grow up to be as successful as Dr. Suess.

A great biography for the under-12 crowd, The Boy on Fairfield Street is beautifully illustrated and tenderly written. From Ted's experiences with bullies to a humiliating experience with former President Theodore Roosevelt, Krull has shown the reader Ted's common failings as well as his extraordinary perseverance. Disappointing, however, is the short-stop ending just after Ted moves to New York at 22, before any of his famous children's books were written. There is an additional four page narrative but it is not fully illustrated as the rest of the story is and may leave some children cold unless they have help to get through it. Overall, a wonderful book that is just perfect for a celebration of Dr. Seuss's birthday on March 2 or a celebration of this year's Seussentennial.