Today, as you may have gleaned already, would have been the 105th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, otherwise known as "Dr. Seuss."

I don't think a single American makes it through childhood without hearing or seeing a Dr. Seuss creation. The man was a timeless genius who gave us gems like "The Cat and the Hat," "Green Eggs and Ham," "The Lorax" and "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish."

In the world of children's' literature, Seuss was the whole enchilada, combining skilled drawings with comical verse written in a poetic meter commonly used by English writers.

But best of all, Seuss was committed to the imagination first and the moral of the story second -- if at all. "Kids can see a moral coming a mile off," he said once. Although his books were laden with his political views, they weren't obvious to the reader and he never started a story with a moral in mind.

His stories were simple, silly and rooted in the imagination -- like most of childhood should be.

I want to remember this when I wonder if my kid is reading well enough for his age or cramping his schedule with another lesson. After all, our little people are really lucky if they aren't forced to get serious too soon, and silly can be stimulating.

"Nonsense wakes up the brain cells," said the great Seuss.