Today, March 2, we say Happy Birthday to one Theodor S. Geisel, better known by a title and his middle name, and for which he is well known for authoring and illustrating more than 60 books, and creating so many unforgettable characters and nonsense words that many have remembered long after the books were read to them as children.

The more recognizable name of the topic person of this piece is the better remembered, Dr. Seuss, whose books have entertained children since the publication of his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street in 1937. In 1940, Dr. Seuss reached the Best Seller level with his book Horton Hears a Who, and is remembered for so many more which did, and didn’t, make the Best Seller List.

In honor of the late Dr. Seuss’s 119th Birthday, the VFTB is offering a Dr. Seuss Quiz and is asking you to name the book, in which the given line is included. Some of you will ace this test of Seuss’s mastery with words and phrases, especially if you have a box of his books in the attic, ones you religiously read to your children, and maybe your children’s children.

There will be 25 quoted lines in this quiz, each one valuing four points, so go grab whatever implements you need to take this quiz, any beverage you may want to enjoy while taking it, and no fair Googling while engaged in the quiz. As always, the answers will follow. Good luck!

(P. S. This goes out to all parents and all librarians, past and present, in schools and communities who introduced kids, young and old, to Theodor S. Geisel.)

1. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

2. “I speak for the trees.”

3. “Look, sir. Look, sir. Mr. Knox, sir”

4. “In the house, and on the street how many, many…”

5. “I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny…”

6. “So, call a big meeting. Get everyone out…”

7. “From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!”

8. “Mice in the Moonlight…”

9. “Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”

10. “And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! There’s one thing I hate! All the NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!”

11 “You are not a boat, or a plane, or a Snort!

12. “… And in the dark. And on a train. And in car. And in tree. They are so good, so good, you see!”

13. “I’m king of a cow! And I’m king of a mule! I’m king of a house!”

14. “These things will not bite you. They want to have fun.”

15. “Then, when every last cent of their money was spent, the Fix-it-Up Chappie packed up and he went.”

16. “Because, after your party, as well you may guess, it will take twenty days just to sweep up the mess.”

17. “From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.”

18. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

19. “Day. Play. We play all day. Night. Fight. We fight all night.”

20. “All those Nupboards in the Cupboards they’re good fun to have about. But that Nooth gush on my tooth brush…Him I could do without.”

21. “Should I put this speck down? . . .’ Horton thought with alarm. ‘If I do, these small persons may come to great harm. I *can’t* put it down. And I *won’t!* After all A person’s a person. No matter how small.'”

22. “Very well, since you insist… You want a vacation. Go fly off and take it. I’ll sit on your egg and try not to break it.

23. “He can go like a cow. He can go MOO MOO. ”

24. “A yawn is quite catching, you see. Like a cough.

It just takes one yawn to start other yawns off.”

25. ” ‘If you sprinkle us Zooks, you’ll get sprinkled as well!’ VanItch had a Sputter exactly like mine!”

Well, there it is. Maybe not quite as easy as one might think, but hopefully some of the questions brought back memories of some of those bedtimes of our children and some of their favorite Dr. Seuss books. Here are the answers in case you need them.

1. Oh the Places You’ll Go

2. The Lorax

3. Fox in Socks

4. The Foot Book

5. The Cat in the Hat

6. Horton Hears a Who

7. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

8. Dr. Seuss’s A-B-C Book

9. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

10. How the Grinch Stole Christmas

11. Are You My Mother?

12. Green Eggs and Ham

13 Yertle the Turtle

14. We Are Thing One and Thing Two

15. The Sneetches and Other Stories

16. Happy Birthday to You

17. Rhyming

18. I Can Read With My Eyes Shut

19. Hop on Pop

20. There’s a Wocket in My Pocket

21. Horton Hears a Who

22. Horton Hatches the Egg

23. Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?

24. Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book

25. The Butter Battle Book

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!