Talk:And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street

Mulberry Street
The part about the real "Mulberry Street" is incorrect: According to Your Favorite Seuss, Mulberry Street was named after the one in Springfield, Massachusetts, where Geisel grew up, rather than the one in Little Italy. It doesn't intersect with any Bliss Street, however.


 * Can you add that info, along with the citation information, to the article page? Pnkrockr 19:34, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

The information about where the original Mulberry street is seems to make sense, but it is still original research, unless we can get a citation for it. Pnkrockr 19:03, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

People in Springfield, MA seem to believe that their Mulberry Street, which is near where Geisel grew up, is the source of the title. However, I haven't found any verification of this, so I consider it so far as apocryphal. "Mulberry Street", like "Elm Street" and "Maple Street", is a very common street name in towns all over the Northeastern US, so it isn't unlikely that he just picked it out of the air. Those who have actually visited the street in Springfield have found little in common with the portrayal in the book.


 * It seems likely that the street is named after the one Suess grew up near, but as you said, he may have also chosen that street name as it's a common one. Thanks for adding a citation that mentions the belief that Suess's Mulberry Street is this Mulberry Street.  Don't forget to sign your comments with 4 ~'s .  Pnkrockr 01:44, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Some have speculated that this street is the source of the title
The final sentence of the article doesn't make sense, or at the very least is redundant. If you read 'this street' as meaning Mulberry Street, in MA, then the sentence is redundant, since we already established that earlier in the article. I think what this sentence is trying to say is that Fairfield street is believed to be the street Seuss envisioned, despite him using a different street in the title. dimo414 (talk) 02:31, 20 December 2007 (UTC)

=) HI!

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BetacommandBot (talk) 18:48, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

More sources
From Dr. Seuss and Philosophy: Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!: There some stuff on Mulberry in there—including some brief stuff on the artwork, and this:
 * "When he began writing children’s books, he responded to editors who rejected And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street for lack of a clear moral message by saying to his wife: 'What's wrong with kids having fun reading without being preached at?'"

An there's this from Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) by Tanya Anderson:
 * "When And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street! was published in 1937, the people of Springfield, Massachusetts, were a little concerned. Unsure of what the book was really about, some townspeople were afraid that the book was going to tell personal, even embarrassing, stories about some of them who actually lived on Mulberry Street. Imagine their relief when they finally saw Dr. Seuss’s children’s book. Instead of a serious, scandalous book, Mulberry Street delighted them with tons of funny-looking creatures and a little boy who had a great imagination—a boy not unlike the young Ted Geisel they had known."

There's also more in there about the Publishers Weekly ad, the reception, and the "expensive" $1 cover price, due to the colour printing. Curly Turkey (gobble) 01:37, 5 November 2013 (UTC)


 * All sounds good - as more (referenced) content is always helpful. Please feel free to add away! Ckruschke (talk) 16:38, 7 November 2013 (UTC)Ckruschke

A few niggling points
This is a reminder to myself more than anyone. Just a few odds and ends that need to be straightened out with this article.

on pages 27–28: "He checked his contract and found that it didn't prevent him from writing children's books. In 1932, he wrote and illustrated an ABC book.  It contained his usual array of way-out animals including a long-necked whizzleworp.  No publisher would buy it." Curly Turkey (gobble) 04:54, 13 November 2013 (UTC) on page 46: "His first book opportunity came in 1931 when an editor at Viking Press asked him to illustrate a book of children’s funny sayings. The funny words came from children’s school papers in England. In the United States, the book was titled Boners, from a word that means "a funny mistake." (It was called Schoolboy Howlers in England.) It sold so well that a sequel, More Boners, was published later the same year. Because Geisel’s illustrations received positive reviews, he decided he wanted to write and illustrate his own children's book, an ABC book filled with strange animals. No one, however, was interested in his outlandish, bright-colored book. He put it aside when he and Helen became preoccupied moving into a nicer home on Park Avenue, where Ted set up a studio." Curly Turkey (gobble) 05:01, 13 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Geisel apparently made an ABC book some years before he started work on this book. But everybody passed on it because it was too expensive. I doubt if remains of it exist. Important primarily because of this book's status as the first Dr. Seuss book. He also illustrated Boners, a book of boyish malapropisms -- though I'm not sure if that was aimed specifically at children.
 * Does Mulberry Street intersect with Bliss Street? Charles Cohen says no. And a quick Google maps search confirms that. But a couple of other sources -- including Philip Nel, who is usually meticulous -- say yes. Oh boy...
 * Maybe this is a case for a "So-and-so sez such-and-such, while so-and-so's cousin states blah-blah-blah". Then maybe through a link in the "External links" section to Mulberry Street in Springfield?  Even if streets with those names don't meet today, who knows what streets were named what a century ago? Curly Turkey (gobble) 06:18, 13 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Is the book named after that particular street. I found another source that says no, this time paraphrasing Geisel.
 * Wikipedia ain't the place to decide these things—the appropriate thing to do is to note that there's disagreement. Curly Turkey (gobble) 06:15, 13 November 2013 (UTC)

Bobnorwal (talk) 21:49, 11 November 2013 (UTC) There's some stuff on this pages 47–48. If you can't get access to the book, I'll see what I can put together after the GAN closes. There are some other interesting tidbits here and there in other essays of the book as well. Curly Turkey (gobble) 06:08, 13 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Also need to add info in the Analysis section about the relationship between Marco and his dad. Bobnorwal (talk) 21:51, 11 November 2013 (UTC)

Heh. Thanks so much, Curly Turkey. You're so cool. Like the guy in a '90s action movie who shows up at the last minute to save the day. I'll add the info (and the other stuff you mentioned earlier) soon. Pretty soon. This move to FA is starting to feel like Whack-a-Mole. Knock one down, two pop up. Also note that, for some reason, I can't get into the Anderson book to look at it. Bobnorwal (talk) 21:50, 13 November 2013 (UTC)
 * My nerd pride takes great offence as being called—ergh—"cool" ... but I'll let it slide. I have full access to the books I've mentioned here, so I'll add anything from them that you can't, but I'd rather get the GA closed first.  Technically, I think it's supposed to be closed after seven days.  If you can get those page numbers done, then I'll start working at incorporating what I can into the article. Curly Turkey (gobble) 22:01, 13 November 2013 (UTC)

British date style in citations
For an American book, shouldn't the date style in the citations be American style? I don't feel like fixing them, but perhaps a gadget-wielding person can do this quite quickly and easily (especially if a hidden note/tag for American-style dates is added). Softlavender (talk) 10:03, 15 November 2014 (UTC)
 * Well, the real solution is for Americans to get with it and start using rational date formats. While you're working on that, I've "fixed" the dates for now. Curly Turkey ¡gobble! 10:15, 15 November 2014 (UTC)

vandalism
Needs to be reverted to https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=And_to_Think_That_I_Saw_It_on_Mulberry_Street&oldid=845562213 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Adamw (talk • contribs) 13:26, 13 June 2018 (UTC)

Copyright status?
Mulberry Street was published in 1937.

According to the Center for the Study of Public Domain at Duke University Law School, https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2021/

"On January 1, 2021, copyrighted works from 1925 will enter the US public domain, where they will be free for all to use and build upon."

So is it still under copyright? --Nbauman (talk) 00:37, 3 March 2021 (UTC)


 * By your explanation, the answer is yes it still is. By my math, Mulberry Street won't enter into the public domain until 2033. Ckruschke (talk) 19:13, 3 March 2021 (UTC)Ckruschke

No Longer Published
I don’t know enough about the topic but someone who does might want to update the article to say the book has been withdrawn from publication as of March 2021, see CNN - Dr. Seuss books cease publication — Boreas74  You'll catch more flies with honey 09:45, 5 March 2021 (UTC)