Color Stories

One of the series of posts I plan on writing as part of this blog will be called “Color Stories” — random and fun instances of color usage in design, art, culture, and history. The first of the posts is a fantastic recording of Dr. Seuss’s beloved What Was I Scared Of?, which appeared in his 1964 book The Sneetches and Other Stories. Although the “villain” in the tale is a pair of empty pale green pants the real reason I’m including this post is for the wonderful narration by the multiple Grammy-winning actor Marvin Miller. His baritone voice provided the voice for characters in such classic film and TV shows as Forbidden Planet and Perry Mason, as well as a number of Dr. Seuss stories. In What Was I Scared Of his voice (and the orchestration) adds the perfect, vulnerable shape for Seuss’s slightly scary but ultimately empowering bedtime story and lesson in facing our fears. I grew up on this recording in the late 1960s and am certainly biased, but if you have young children or five minutes to spare it’s well worth listening to.

Here’s a link to the recording.