When Did Dr. Seuss Win the Pulitzer Prize?

If you thought the Pulitzer Prize was only for hard-hitting, fedora-wearing journalists risking their lives, careers and reputations to break world-changing news stories, think again. Over the past century, Pulitzer recipients have run the gamut of genres, from American historians to silly children’s writers, all winning the prize for their excellence in journalism and the arts.

In 1984, Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known and loved the world over as Dr. Seuss, was given a Pulitzer Prize Special Award in Letters “for his special contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America's children and their parents.”

Dr. Seuss, who published his first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, in 1937, penned over 60 children’s books in his lifetime including:

• Horton Hears a Who! (1954), the story of an elephant that saves an entire society because of his belief that “people are people, no matter how small.”
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957), a change-of-heart story.
• The Cat in the Hat (1957), which teaches the importance of developing and using the imagination.
• Green Eggs and Ham (1960), a book that teaches us to try new things because we just might like them.
• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (1960), which teaches counting, colors and rhyme.
• The Butter Battle Book (1984), the tale of the Zooks and the Yooks, who very nearly go to war because they eat their bread buttered differently.
• Oh, the Places You’ll Go (1990), a book of encouragement and commissioning, of sending out into the world to dream, to live and to achieve.

In the 1950s, starting with The Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss began working with Houghton Mifflin and Random House to write books for beginning readers. The Cat in the Hat was to use only 225 new-reader vocabulary words. He wrote children’s books from then on.

Pulitzer Prize: Honoring Excellence

According to its website, the Pulitzer Prize has been “honoring excellence in journalism and the arts since 1917.” Joseph Pulitzer, a Hungarian immigrant who came to the United States in the 1860s, worked his way up the social ladder from an unknown immigrant who couldn’t speak English to the owner and editor-in-chief of The New York World, one of the most successful newspapers of the day.

Despite reports of Pulitzer being a workaholic who was extremely demanding and difficult to work for, you have to give him credit for his accomplishments. In his will, Pulitzer left money to Columbia University for the founding of its Journalism School and for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prize. Pulitzer Prizes are currently awarded in 14 journalism categories, 6 letters categories, and one for music.

Dr. Seuss won the Pulitzer Prize for his incredible contribution to the education and enjoyment of children and their parents.