many staggering works of heartwarming genius

An imagination is never as fired as one fed on Dr Seuss. I immersed myself in his books as a child and I'm sure it's shaped the person I am today. After having our daughter, I scoured op-shops and second-hand bookstores to find original hardcovers of Dr Seuss works. Sadly, all mine had been lost in one of my father's many moves.

Miss A now has quite a collection, and even now, at nine and a half, will often be read to sleep by one of his fanciful tales. She'll read herself for 15 minutes {Inkheart is the current enormous tome she's reading} and then hubby or I will read a quick story to send her off to sleep. It's a tradition started in utero when one of my friends {hey, Bella Mumma!} gave me a Dr Seuss book for babies in utero - Oh Baby the places you'll go.

The rhymes, the illustrations, the magnificence of the stories - often with a motto so subtle, yet strong, it could make you weep - are classic works of brilliance that deserve a place on every child's bookshelf. 

Maybe when a day is miserable and gloomy we could all ask ourselves - "What would Dr Seuss do?"