The Boy On Fairfield Street:
How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss
This enjoyable biography of Dr. Seuss focuses on his boyhood - growing up on Fairfield Street. The biography uses
Suess's boyhood to draw attention to his adult life and talents, giving insights into how he became Dr. Seuss.
According to the book, young Ted Geisel "feasted on books and was wild about animals." No one could tell how Ted
would turn out, it says, not even Ted. The biography provides glimpses into Ted's young and seemingly ideallic life
with smooth prose- his father was superintendent of parks and ran the local zoo; his mother read to him every night.
The biography also shows that Ted was an outsider often, primarily due to his German roots. These details put Ted's
story into a historical context. The book briefly mentions his brush with higher education (both Dartmouth and Oxford)
and ends with the beginning of his career. The book reads like a story without seeming over-fictionalized.
The book is attractive and readable. The painted illustrations of young Ted are lifelike and lively looking, his
face always seeming bright with ideas. Particularly charming and clever are Seuss's own illustrations that appear at
the bottom of pages with text. Each little vignette echos what is said in the text. For example, one page
of the text mentions Ted's art teacher saying his art broke all the rules, paired with a fish driving happily away in a fast
car (From One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.) These details seem to link the man and his art even more so, signifying
the power of one's youth in forming one's self.
After the main biography concludes, four pages of text highlights more of Ted's life, giving more details and insights.
One of the more poignant insights is "Ted Geisel wasn't born Dr. Seuss. Instead, the birth of 'Dr. Seuss' was a long
process, not all of it comfortable, of searching for focus." According to Booklist, "Krull wanted to disabuse children
of the notion that 'artists and writers are hatched fully formed'" (Booklist 2004). Also included is an index of illustrations.
Krull, Kathleen. The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss. Illus by
Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. New York: Random House, 2004. ISBN 03758222984.
