A Seuss celebration at bookstore

FAIRFIELD — A Seuss celebration, with rhyming and more, took place on the weekend at a local bookstore.

In honor of the Read Across America initiative, which celebrates the classic work of Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, the Fairfield University Bookstore played host to an event Saturday afternoon that included some costumed guests and a read-aloud from some student volunteers.

“We’ve been doing this since we opened the store eight years ago,” said Craig Kennedy, bookstore manager.

Kids came to hear the stories but stayed to win some raffle drawings that included some of the author’s classics, such as “The Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs and Ham,” and “Hop on Pop.”

“We try to get as close to March 2 as we can,” noted Nancy Quinn, special events coordinator, noting Seuss’s birth date.

In his time Geisel, who occasionally published books under the pseudonym Theo LeSieg, penned and illustrated such classics as “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “The Lorax,” and “The Sneetches and Other Stories.”

Contrary to popular opinion, Geisel maintained that the pen name “Seuss” was not supposed to rhyme with juice, as most people always assume, but should rhyme with voice. Geisel created the name while writing for the school’s humor magazine at Dartmouth University.

Kennedy described Suess’s work as “a simple, hilariously funny, engaging way to get kids to read.”

Visitors to the bookstore concurred, enjoying an actual meeting with the famed Cat in the Hat.

“Parents love it,” Quinn said of the event. “We love it and we’re promoting reading.”