Dr. Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden

From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere! That’s certainly true of Springfield [1], where you can find some of the most beloved children’s characters—the Lorax, Horton, and of course the Cat in the Hat—immortalized in bronze on the grassy lawn at the Dr. Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden (21 Edwards St., Springfield, 413/263-6800, www.catinthehat.org [2], 9 a.m.–8 p.m. daily Apr.–mid-Oct., 9 a.m.–5 p.m. daily mid-Oct.–Mar.).

Sitting in the center at his drawing board is their creator, “Dr. Seuss” himself, whose alter ego Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield in 1904 and lived here until he was a teenager. The author actually incorporated many of Springfield’s sights and architecture into his fanciful kids’ books.

There actually is a Mulberry Street that served as inspiration for And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street (though don’t expect to find an elephant pulling a brass band there). Seuss also grew up only a few blocks from the Forest Park Zoo, where his father was keeper for a time, giving If I Ran the Zoo an interesting Oedipal twist. Inside the park is a monument with three stories of twisting stairs similar to those that find their way into the architecture of many of Seuss’s books.

An exhibit nearby at the Connecticut Valley History Museum (11 a.m.–4 p.m. Tues.–Sun., $10 adults, $7 seniors and college students, $5 children 3–17, free children under 3) shows how other landmarks around Springfield [1] made it into his books. It also has an eclectic collection of Seuss ephemera, including the illustrator’s Boy Scout badges and banjo.