Theodor Seuss Geisel was my first love. He wrote the first book I ever finished and is the reason I love reading. I grew up wanting to be one of his cute characters. Even at the ripe old age of six he spoke to me. (Parents, never underestimate the power of a book.) Feeling a little melancholy, I actually went back last night and re-read The Sneetches. The ending always makes me feel better because I've known since the first time I read it that I was a sneetch without a star.
We all know that the publishing industry is going through changes. Long gone are the days where only the star bellied sneetches get to share their voice with the world. Sylvester McMonkey McBean has come to town with his fix-it machine and now everyone's voice can be heard. Some star-bellied sneetches welcome in the newcomers trying to help. Others scoff, picking out every flaw in an attempt to show the world the evils of McBean's contraption. Nevertheless, we're now all mixed up, and, like it or not, readers have a choice whether they read books from sneeches with star upon thars.
If you've never read The Sneetches I recommend it highly. In the end, the star-bellied sneetches have to realize that even the sneetches without the stars upon thars are intelligent beings that have something to contribute.
All I have to say is that we could all learn a lot from Dr. Seuss.
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