The Various Pen Names for Theodor Geisel

Theodor Ted Seuss Geisel wrote more than 60 childrens books and became one of the most famous childrens authors of all time. He used a few pen names, but his most popular one is a household name: Dr. Seuss. He penned a number of books under other names, such as Theo LeSieg and Rosetta Stone. Early Pen Names When he first began writing and illustrating childrens books, Theodor Geisel combined Dr. and Seuss, his middle name, which was also his mothers maiden name, to create the pseudonym Dr. Seuss. He started the practice of using a pseudonym when he was in college and he was stripped of his editorial privileges for the schools humor magazine, the Jack-O-Lantern. Geisel then began publishing under aliases, such as L. Pasteur, D.G. Rossetti 25, T. Seuss, and Seuss. Once he left school and became a magazine cartoonist, he began signing his work as â€Å"Dr. Theophrastus Seuss† in 1927. Although he did not finish his  doctorate in literature at Oxford as he had hoped, he still decided to shorten his pen name to â€Å"Dr. Seuss† in 1928. Pronunciation of Seuss In acquiring his new pseudonym, he also gained a new pronunciation for his family name. Most Americans pronounced the name Soose, rhyming with Goose. The correct pronunciation is actually Zoice,  Ã‚  rhyming with Voice. One of his friends,  Alexander Liang, created a Seuss-like poem about how people were mispronouncing Seuss: You’re wrong as the deuceAnd you shouldn’t rejoiceIf you’re calling him Seuss.He pronounces it Soice (or Zoice). Geisel embraced the Americanized  pronunciation (his mothers family was Bavarian) because of its close correlation to famed childrens author Mother Goose.  Apparently, he also  added the Doctor (abbreviated Dr.) to his pen name because his father had always wanted him to practice medicine. Later Pen Names He used Dr. Seuss for childrens books that he both wrote and illustrated. Theo LeSieg (Geisel spelled backward) is another name he used for books he wrote. Most of the LeSieg books were illustrated by someone else. Rosetta Stone is a pseudonym he used when he worked with Philip D. Eastman. Stone is an homage to his wife Audrey Stone. Books Written Under Different Pen Names Books Written as Theo LeSieg Name of the Book Year Come Over to My House 1966 Hooper Humperdinck...? Not Him! 1976 I Can Write! A Book by Me, Myself 1971 I Wish That I Had Duck Feet 1965 In a People House 1972 Maybe You Should Fly a Jet! Maybe You Should Be a Vet! 1980 Please Try to Remember the First of Octember! 1977 Ten Apples Up on Top 1961 The Eye Book 1968 The Many Mice of Mr. Brice 1973 The Tooth Book 1981 Wacky Wednesday 1974 Would You Rather Be a Bullfrog? 1975 Book Written as Rosetta Stone Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! (illustrated by MichaelFrith) 1975 Books Written as Dr. Seuss And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street 1937 The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins 1938 The King's Stilts 1939 Horton Hatches the Egg 1940 McElligot's Pool 1947 Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose 1948 Bartholomew and the Oobleck 1949 If I Ran the Zoo 1950 Scrambled Eggs Super! 1953 Horton Hears a Who! 1954 On Beyond Zebra 1955 If I Ran the Circus 1956 The Cat in the Hat 1957 How the Grinch Stole Christmas 1957 Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories 1958 The Cat in the Hat Comes Back! 1958 Happy Birthday to You! 1959 Green Eggs and Ham 1960 One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish 1960 The Sneetches and Other Stories 1961 Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book 1962 Dr. Seuss's ABC 1963 Hop on Pop 1963 Fox in Socks 1965 I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew 1965 The Cat in the Hat Song Book 1967 The Foot Book 1968 I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! And Other Stories 1969 My Book About Me 1969 I Can Draw It Myself 1970 Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? 1970 The Lorax 1971 Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! 1972 Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? 1973 The Shape of Me and Other Stuff 1973 Great Day for Up 1974 There's a Wocket in My Pocket! 1974 Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! 1975 The Cat's Quizzer 1976 I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! 1978 Oh Say Can You Say? 1979 Hunches in Bunches 1982 The Butter Battle Book 1984 You're Only Old Once! 1986 I Am Not Going to Get Up Today! 1987 Oh, the Places You'll Go! 1990 Daisy-Head Mayzie 1994 My Many Colored Days 1996 Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! 1998 Most Famous Books Seuss top-selling books and best-known titles include Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, and Dr. Seusss ABC. Many of Seuss books have been adapted for television and film and inspired animated series. Popular titles to hit the silver screen included How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Horton Hears a Who, and The Lorax.