ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam I Am”.

Betting his publisher he could create a children’s book only using 50 words, Dr. Seuss (aka Theodor Geisel) set out on his quest and came up with “Green Eggs and Ham” and collected on his bet in 1960. Seuss only used 223 words to write perhaps his most famous book “Cat in the Hat” in 1955.

And he would have had 107 candles on his cake today (born in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 2, 1904) if he were still around but his legacy lives on in the 44 timeless books he wrote in his lifetime.

Because he is undoubtedly the most beloved children’s author, schools and communities around the country celebrate his birthday by having a reading day known as “Read Across America” created by the National Education Association.

According to the NEA website, this day was started in 1997 by a reading task force to get kids excited about reading and purposely chosen to coincide with Seuss’s birthday. “Motivating children to read is an important factor in student achievement and creating lifelong successful readers. Research has shown that children who are motivated and spend more time reading do better in school.”

Robertsdale Elementary and Rosinton Elementary celebrated by having community members come and read to the students and many classrooms could be found engaged in “Seuessified” activities.

NEA has local and national (50) sponsorship for this program in the form of organizations and associations and 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators and retired educators that make up NEA membership, the website said.

Geisel in his book “Horton Hears a Who”, said “A person’s a person, no matter how small” and also said “Children want the same things we want. To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and delighted.”

Graduating from Dartmouth College in 1925, Geisel had aspirations to get a Ph.D in Literature from Oxford in England but got sidetracked when he met his wife, Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927, his bio said.

When he returned to the United States, Geisel worked for several magazines (Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty) and it wasn't until 1936, he had the first idea for a children’s book, “And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street”, published in 1937.

After serving in the Army in World War II and reading an article on illiteracy in schoolchildren in Life magazine, Geisel’s publisher acquired a list of 400 important words for children and challenged him to write an entertaining children’s book. Taking the challenge, Geisel produced “Cat in the Hat “ nine months later and Dr. Seuss (his middle name) books were born.

After a storied career and winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, along with three Oscars, Dr. Seuss died on September 24, 1991.

In addition to RAA day, NEA also has other events throughout the year including Teen Read Week, Drop Everything and Read Day, and International Literacy Day. For more information, visit nea.org.