(Peru)-- Peru, Nebraska-The Peru Student Education Association (PSEA) will celebrate the birthday of author Dr. Seuss by hosting area children on the Peru State College campus Thursday, March 3 and Friday, March 4 for four theatrical presentations of Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham; Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are; The Foot Book; and What Pet Should I Get?

Performances, which are free and open to the public, begin at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. both days in the College Theatre on the Peru State College campus.  

Green Eggs and Ham was written with only 50 different words.  Sam-I-Am tries to get his friend to try a new dish in a variety of circumstances.

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are was written in 1973.  The book begins, "When I was quite young and quite small for my size, I met an old man in the Desert of Drize."  So begins the terrific advice of the wise old man in the Desert of Drize.

The Foot Book is a favorite of young children everywhere.  The 1968 book teaches the importance of opposites with rhymes and feet.

Written in possibly the late 1950s or early 1960s, the script and illustrations for What Pet Should I Get? were discovered in a box by his family twenty years after Seuss’ death.  Published in 2013, the book illustrates that while making decisions can be hard, eventually you have to “make up your mind.”

Eight hundred Head Start and pre-Kindergarten through fourth grade students from 12 area schools are scheduled to attend the annual event, which is held in conjunction with Read Across America Week. In addition to the theatrical production, students will be asked to take a “Reader’s Oath.” PSEA members will also donate books to each of the schools in attendance.

Dr. Judith Ruskamp, associate professor of education and PSEA advisor said, “Our teacher candidates enjoy hosting this event each spring because it is an opportunity for them to promote the importance of reading. They also gain valuable, authentic experience working with students as they continue to develop their knowledge and skills related to teaching in the classroom. The Peru Student Education Association appreciates that schools in our surrounding communities continue to make the annual Dr. Seuss Birthday Party a regular event on their school calendars.”

Dr. Seuss was born Theodore Geisel in 1904. His first book titled And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, published in 1936, was an instant success. His desire to excite children to read led him to write The Cat in the Hat in 1954 followed by 42 other books. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and was also awarded three Academy Awards.