Future Events

"Dr. Seuss Wants You" exhibit - May 1 thru May 31, 2010

Theodor Seuss Geisel, is best known for his children's books written under his pen name "Dr. Seuss", but he was a life-long cartoonist and served as chief political cartoonist for the New York newspaper PM from 1941-1943. During this period in which the Nazi regime reigned - Geisel created more than 400 editorial cartoons.

The unexpected and serious side of Geisel's work provides new insights into an America divided during that time. He focused on the concerns that America needed to address while World War II engulfed the world and demonstrated in simple truth how individuals must become aware, informed and involved in their surroundings to take thoughtful and decisive action.

His work continues to inspire people of all backgrounds and ages to think and care about the fate of humanity. "Dr. Seuss Wants You" is a traveling exhibit created by The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education in Cincinnati, Ohio and is based on the book "Dr. Seuss Goes to War" by historian Richard H. Minear.

View this exhibit in the Adult Lounge at the JCC during the month of May.

 

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Dr. Seuss Goes to War: a slide presentation

Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Time: 7:00- 8:00 p.m.
Place: JCC Auditorium
1160 Dickinson Street
Springfield, MA 01108
Guest speaker: Professor Richard H. Minear

During the month of May the traveling exhibit, “Dr. Seuss Wants You” will be on display at Hatikvah Holocaust Education Center. It includes a selection of little known World War II-era political cartoons by the famed children's author.

More than 200 of the cartoons were collected by our speaker in the book Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel. Dr. Minear, a retired professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is one of the country's leading historians of Japan during World War II.

Many of Dr. Seuss's whimsical children's books also contain serious themes. Some of these characters, such as a Sneetch-type creature and a prototype of Yertle the Turtle, made their first appearance not in Dr. Seuss's children's books, but in the nearly 400 political cartoons he drew for PM, a left-wing daily newspaper published in New York from 1940 to 1948. Dr. Seuss worked as an editorial cartoonist for the paper from 1941 to 1943.

Professor Minear will show slides of the cartoons and lead a discussion about their meanings.

Signed copies of “Dr. Seuss Wants You” will be available for purchase.

The public is invited. There is no charge to attend.