Are YOU Going to Solla Sollew?

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.
~Dr. Seuss


One of my favorite children’s book authors of all time, is Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He published 44 children's books, which were often characterized by imaginative characters & creatures & creative rhyme.

Best known for his "Cat in the Hat" Books, he used nonsensical words to create vivid worlds that have nothing to do with reality and are only limited by what the audience’s imaginations can create. Children & adults of all ages have come to love Dr. Suess and his amazing stories.

If I had to pick a favorite Dr. Suess book, it would have to be “ I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew” (©1965). This was a favorite of my sons (now 25 & 26) growing up. They would ask me to read it to them again and again, (complete with character voices). I even gave a copy to one of them as a high school graduation gift. (Somehow now my daughter, 11, has acquired that very same copy and refuses to return it to its rightful owner!)

In this imaginative, story, our main character, (a strange but cute & lovable little fellow) has a very hard time staying away from troubles & finding Peace & Happiness.

After stubbing his toe and being bitten in the tail end by a Quilligan Quail, he decides that he’ll go in search of the city of Solla Sollew, a magical place where there will be better luck, so he is told.

Unfortunately, no one is able to actually lead him to the wonderful land of Solla Sollew, (on the beautiful banks of the River Wa-hoo) and a series of unexpected, and unplanned for, mishaps make for an interesting, yet frustrating adventure as troubles seem to follow him wherever he goes.

The themes in this book are timeless and fall into the many lessons of yoga: through this story children can learn about coping with troubles, the reality of impermanence, about what happens when we blindly follow others, how things are not always as bad as they seem, planning ahead and thinking things through, trusting your instincts and most importantly, how happiness is not a faraway place-it’s a state of being.

It’s a great reminder for adults too-that many times, that very magical place we are looking for is right underneath our noses.

Filled with vivid imagery, this is one Children’s book that belongs in everyone’s personal library!!

*Dr. Suess’s birthday, March 2, has been adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day, an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association.



*Want to hear the story of "Solla Sollew"?   Click here to listen...