Dr. Seuss

"By his own admission, Nel offers a text that is somewhat schematic, he dedicates each chapter to a different aspect of Geisel's work and uses a different theoretical approach: on poetry, he uses formalism; on politics, historicism; on marketing, cultural studies; and so on. Such varying thematic interpretations reveal Nel's remarkable extensive research, which reaches from Geisel's political cartoons to his decisions about copyright and trademark to protect his own creations. Nel offers astute analyses of both racism and sexism in Geisel's work, and one particularly interesting chapter outlines the intertextual borrowings and influences from Geisel's work. All this is richly illustrate with more than 30 reproductions. The invaluable 70-page annotated bibliography lists both primary works and secondary sources - films, books, interviews, reviews, and Web sites. Essential." - Choice, 9/04 -- E.R. Baer
"Like The Cat in the Hat, which can be enjoyed by both parents and children, lay people and scholars, Nel's book neither forgets nor talks down to its audience. A fine example of scholarship, Dr. Seuss: American Icon will be equally at home on the researcher's bookshelf or the Seuss fan's coffee table. Well-written, well-argued, and well-conceived, Nel's good-humored book teaches a lesson of which Dr. Seuss would approve: good scholarship, like good literature, can be both rich and accessible. It's a lesson from which we might all learn." -Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 17-4, 2004
"Dr. Seuss: American Icon provides the reader a memorably excellent survey of Dr. Seuss' many achievements." -Library Bookwatch, November 2004
"Because Nel frames his discussion within contemporary criticism, his analysis is more important to children's literature scholars in the academy....he sprinkles the scholarly publications of other throughout his text, thus supporting his conclusions. His text is richly embedded with the earlier research of children's literature scholars and ties into cultural aesthetics and children's literature....environmental ideal, and his markers of political protest in his images is most valuable....they will have an important impact on further discussions of Dr. Seuss cartoonist, satirist, consumer magnate, and instigator of twenty-first-century aesthetics in American children's culture." -The Lion and the Unicorn, 1/05
"Dr. Seuss: American Icon is consistently lively, engaging, and impeccably researched. Its seventy-two-page annotated bibliography alone will prove indispensable to future Seuss researchers and useful for students and scholars of twentieth-century American children's literature and culture..." -Children's Literature 33, 2005
mention -- Children's Literature Association Quarterly
"...very well conceived text. With its focus on Seuss's aesthetics, politics, and legacy in American cultural life, Dr. Seuss: American Icon should appeal to Americanists and to children's literature scholars alike."- Gwen Athene Tarbox, American Studies, Vol. 47:2 -- American Studies
"He provides extensive commentary, endnotes, and an annotated bibliography, increasing the value to academics...the book provides fertile ground for further study." --School Library Journal, August 2005 * School Library Journal *
"He provides extensive commentary, endnotes, and an annotated bibliography, increasing the value to academics...the book provides fertile ground for further study." --School Library Journal, August 2005 * School Library Journal *