The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss

Krull, Kathleen. 2004. THE BOY ON FAIRFIELD STREET: HOW TED GEISEL GREW UP TO BECOME DR. SEUSS. Ill. by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. New York: Random House.

Krull does an exceptional job of taking the reader from early childhood to adulthood with one of reader’s favorite author and illustrator’s, Dr. Seuss. The reader immediately feels connected with Ted as a young boy as he is portrayed as one that did not always “fit in” with everyone else. The soft, pastel colored paintings that accent the text give the reader a view into Ted’s world and they make a stunning contrast to the bright and comical illustrations from Dr. Seuss’ that are interjected through out the text. At the end of the story, Krull includes a section titled “On Beyond Fairfield Street” which gives a synopsis of Geisel’s life after he left home to become the writer that is so famous today. She also includes a list of all of the works written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss in the order of publication, with publication dates included. She includes a list of additional resources for further reading. Krull also includes a list that details Dr. Seuss’s illustrations that were taken from his various works to include in this book. Krull does a wonderful job of portraying Seuss in a way that not only brings him to life for the reader but keeps his works and determination alive to the reader.