Dr. Seuss
Audrey Geisel (center), the wife of author and artist Dr. Seuss, poses with characters — The Cat in the Hat and Thing One and Thing Two — from his books after he was honored posthumously with the 2,249th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, March 11, 2004. REUTERS/Jim Ruymen JR

It is Dr. Seuss’ birthday Thursday! Born as Theodor Seuss Geisel on March 2, 1904, Dr. Seuss went on to become one of the most loved children’s book authors of all time. His birthday is also celebrated throughout the U.S. as "Read Across America Day."

Dr. Seuss is responsible for giving the world quirky and distinctive character through his books. Not only the characters, the names of the characters were peculiar too — Biffer-Baum Birds, Yertle the Turtle, Sam-I-Am and Dr. Terwilliker.

Check out the top five characters created by Dr. Seuss.

The Lorax

The Lorax is a cute, fluffy and orange creature whose aim is to protect trees from the greedy corporate Once-ler. The Lorax warns Once-ler that cutting down the trees will led to awful consequences for the animals who live in the forest and even Once-ler. The story is a take on growing industrialization.

The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat is arguably the most popular character and book in the Dr. Seuss series. The book is about a lanky black and white cat who wears a red and white striped hat and a red bow tie. The cat always has a soft smile and almost destroys the house of two children with help of two identical creatures called Thing One and Thing Two.

The Grinch

The Grinch is a grumpy, anti-holiday creature who is accompanied by his dog Max. He does not like Christmas and all the festivities associated with it. The Grinch disguises himself as Santa Claus to steal all Christmas presents and treats in an attempt to stop the festival from coming. However, The Grinch's plans fails and he understands that the holiday should carry its distinct meaning and returns the gifts.

Sam-I-Am

Sam-I-Am is the protagonist in “Green Eggs and Ham.” The tailless and earless cat stubbornly follows another character and convinces him to try the new dish green eggs and ham. Sam-I-Am later comes to know that the dish is actually tasty.

Horton the elephant

This gentle elephant has big heart and is compassionate toward all the animals in the jungle. His story revolves around convincing his folks that speck of dust is communicating to him. He later finds out that the speck is in fact a planet called Whoville.

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