To honor what would be Dr. Seuss' 113 birthday on March 2, DeMello Elementary staff and students shared books and wore themed costumes.

Every year, children are encouraged to wear crazy socks for the author's birthday, but different teachers incorporate the event in different ways, said second grade teacher Melissa Pickering.

"[Seuss] loved books, and he loved kids and wanted to make books more interesting for kids," said Pickering. "I think he's very relatable as a famous figure."

In Pickering's class, students colored paper hats and bow ties to wear, visited Seuss' website, and wrote about places they'd like to visit based on the "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" title and prompt.

Students also created art work based on their favorite characters, which then turned into an art critique-type event as students had to use adjectives to describe their peers' works. That wasn't as great as green eggs and ham, however, said Pickering.

"My favorite moment of the day was seeing the children so excited to read with a friend," she said. "They're little, and they're laughing out loud, and they're laughing with a friend. This is why [Seuss] did it."

Pickering said she had borrowed more than 20 Seuss titles from the library to share with her students. However, in first grade teacher Amy Slavin's classroom, Slavin's mother made her yearly visit dressed as the Cat in the Hat, said Pickering.

Additionally, teachers visited classrooms other than their own to read to students and build community throughout the school, said Pickering.