THE BOY ON FAIRFIELD STREET: HOW TED GEISEL GREW UP TO BECOME DR. SEUSS

(Book Cover: Krull, Kathleen. 2004. New York: Random House. Photo Source: Barnes and Noble, http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=boy+fairfield+street+ted, accessed October 27, 2008)


1. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Krull, Kathleen. The boy on Fairfield Street: how Ted Geisel grew up to become Dr. Seuss. Ills. Steve Johnson, Lou Fancher, Dr. Seuss. 2004. New York: Random House. ISBN: 0-375-82298-4 (trade); 0-375-92298-9 (lib. bdg.)

2. ABOUT THIS BOOK: This is a biography of the life of Ted Geisel, the man more commonly known as Dr. Seuss. The book begins with his early childhood while living at 74 Fairfield Street in Springfield, Massachusetts and ends with Mr. Geisel living in a tiny apartment in Greenwich Village at what was to be the beginning of his life as Dr. Seuss. At the back of the book, the biography continues in a different format, in a section titled “On Beyond Fairfield Street”. This portion of the book provides information about Ted Geisel from the age of twenty-two until his death in 1991 at the age of eighty-seven. An informative list of “Great Works Written and Illustrated by Dr. Seuss” is also included.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: This author appears to be very knowledgeable about the life of Ted Geisel. She includes reference material for other readings on Dr. Seuss as well as website information to various items mentioned in the book. While it is difficult to determine the accuracy of information the author places in this biography, it is helpful to look at the reputation of the author. A quick Internet search of the author shows that she has written countless books over the years. An online biography of Kathleen Krull reports a Publisher’s Weekly critic as stating “With entertaining details about authors from Hans Christian Andersen to Jack London, ‘Krull knows exactly how to captivate her audience’ by combining historical particulars with ‘amusing anecdotes that put flesh and blood on dry literary bones’” (Source: Brief Biographies, http://biography.jrank.org/pages/284/Krull-Kathleen-1952.html , accessed October 25, 2008). Based on this review of Kathleen Krull’s credentials, it would seem safe to assume the information contained in this book is accurate.

This book is clearly organized from the early childhood to the young adulthood of Ted Geisel. The illustrations are also well organized. In addition to the inclusion of an illustration on every page that relates to the words on the page, there is also one of Dr. Seuss’ drawings included on each page. Often, the drawings from Dr. Seuss also relate to the words on the page. For example, on page 8, Ms. Krull writes about Mr. Geisel’s love of the zoo and includes an illustration from Dr. Seuss’ The Sneetches and other stories. The illustration is that of a zookeeper. The illustrators, Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher have included a picture of a young boy at the zoo on the corresponding page 9. This clever placement of illustrations continues throughout the book and is a detail not to be missed. In fact, it is the most interesting and unique part of this book.

The author’s style is very conversational. It seems almost as though she knew Ted Geisel personally and is telling his life story to young readers. This book lives up to its name in that it is solely about the boy that Ted Geisel was and doesn’t touch upon the man he became. This book is so well done; it is a shame that another book about the man that became Dr. Seuss was not written as a sequel. Instead, all information on Mr. Geisel’s life after the age of twenty-two is included in a four page author’s addendum. While it does include some of Dr. Seuss’ illustrations, and even an actual photograph of Ted Geisel as an older man, it is not as intriguing for the reader as the main part of the book.

While it is regrettable that this book could not go on to include more of the life of Dr. Seuss, it certainly creates interesting reading about his early life. With the inclusion of reference information, an addendum containing a long list of Dr. Seuss books and a reference to the Dr. Seuss illustrations included in the book, this book gives the reader a good start at learning much more about Dr. Seuss. Overall, it is a book that would be valuable in any elementary school library.

4. BOOK REVIEW EXCERPT(S): (Source: Book Index with Reviews EBSCO database, accessed via TWU Library Online)

KIRKUS REVIEW BOOK, December 15, 2003: “. . . the magic of [Dr. Seuss] will make this a huge hit, but it's the lively writing that puts the hat on the cat.”

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, January 1, 2004: “Johnson and Fancher's lovely, full-page illustrations are supplemented by samples of Dr. Seuss's artwork, including scenes from The Cat and the Hat and The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.”

BOOKLIST, February 1, 2004: “Krull's pithy text is extended by full-page paintings that glow with the memory of yesteryear and capture the mix of humor and poignancy that comes with trying to fit in. Spot art from Geisel's own books enlivens the text pages.”

5. CONNECTIONS IN A SCHOOL LIBRARY SETTING:
• This book will be well loved by children and will be good to use for young elementary students to study biographies.
• This book will be something to use anytime a teacher or librarian is doing author studies. Ms. Krull is an interesting author in her own right so it might be fun to follow this book up with a look at Ms. Krull as an author. The students can discuss whether they can trust that the information contained in the book is correct, based upon what they know about the source of the book.
• You can use the illustrations in this book for a compare and contrast lesson. On each page, there is an illustration by Dr. Seuss and another by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. You can use these photographs in a discussion with the students on why the photos were put together, how the photos are alike, and how they are different.


Other related items:

• Krull, Kathleen. Lives of the musicians: good times, bad times (and what the neighbors thought). 1993. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
• Krull, Kathleen. Lives of the writers: comedies, tragedies (and what the neighbors thought). 1994. San Diego: Harcourt Brace.
• Cohen, Charles D. The Seuss, the whole Seuss, and nothing but the Seuss: a visual biography of Theodore Seuss Geisel. 2004. New York: Random House.