EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

1-1 Whereas, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904, in

1-2 Springfield, Massachusetts; and

1-3 Whereas, Theodor Seuss Geisel graduated from Dartmouth College in

1-4 1925 and began writing humorous articles and creating cartoons for

1-5 various magazines; and

1-6 Whereas, His first children’s book, And to Think That I Saw It on

1-7 Mulberry Street, was rejected by 43 publishers until, in 1937, a friend

1-8 published the book for him; and

1-9 Whereas, In May of 1954, Life magazine published a report

1-10 concerning illiteracy among school children, stating that, among other

1-11 things, children were having trouble learning to read because the books

1-12 were boring; and

1-13 Whereas, This comment inspired Theodor Seuss Geisel’s publisher,

1-14 Bennett Cerf, to compile a list of 400 words that he felt were important,

1-15 asking Mr. Geisel to cut the list to 250 words, the amount of words a first

1-16 grader could absorb, and using only those words to write a book that would

1-17 excite children; and

2-1 Whereas, Nine months later, Mr. Geisel, using 220 of the words given

2-2 to him, published The Cat in the Hat, which became an instant success;

2-3 and

2-4 Whereas, Later in 1960, Bennett Cerf bet Mr. Geisel $50 that he

2-5 couldn’t write an entire book using only 50 words and from that challenge

2-6 came the famous children’s book, Green Eggs and Ham, which also

2-7 became an instant success; and

2-8 Whereas, From that point on, Theodor Seuss Geisel became known as

2-9 "Dr. Seuss," and children became enthused about reading every Dr. Seuss

2-10 book available; and

2-11 Whereas, Dr. Seuss died on September 24, 1991, but his legacy of

2-12 children’s books will live forever as an inspiration to children everywhere

2-13 to learn to read and to share in the laughter, enjoyment and knowledge that

2-14 a book can provide; and

2-15 Whereas, In honor of Dr. Seuss and the joy of reading, the National

2-16 Education Association has designated March 2, 1999, as "Read Across

2-17 America" day and has called upon every child to read with a caring adult

2-18 on this day in honor of what would have been Dr. Seuss’s 95th birthday;

2-19 now, therefore, be it

2-20 Resolved by the Assembly of the State of Nevada, the Senate

2-21 Concurring, That March 2, 1999, is hereby recognized as "Read Across

2-22 America" Day in Nevada in commemoration of Dr. Seuss’s birthday; and

2-23 be it further

2-24 Resolved, That children and adults are encouraged to read a favorite

2-25 book together on this date to share the joy of reading; and be it further

2-26 Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and transmit

2-27 a copy of this resolution to Elaine Lancaster, President of the Nevada State

2-28 Education Association, and Ken Lange, Executive Director of the Nevada

2-29 State Education Association.