Westminster John Knox Press

When "Horton Hears a Who!," is there a sermon to be heard? What about "The Cat in the Hat" and "The Lorax"? Are those characters metaphors for Christ? And "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" — if you'll only follow the Great Commission.

No one has ever doubted the layers of meaning in the stories of Dr. Seuss. "The Lorax" has obvious lessons about the environment. "The Butter Battle Book" took direct aim at the Cold War arms race. "Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now!" was one way to demand the resignation of President Nixon.

So when Horton's world of Who-ville was "saved by the Smallest of All," Robert Short saw the savior of the Whos as a symbol for the Savior of all people. From "Green Eggs and Ham" to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," Short has reinterpreted many of Theodor Seuss Geisel's stories as subtle messages of Christian doctrine in "The Parables of Dr. Seuss."

Questions remain, however, about whether Geisel intended such an interpretation or Short, a retired Presbyterian minister, is just seeing the stories through the lens of his own life.

"I was amazed at what I found when I started looking at it — all this Christian imagery was very carefully factored into his stories," Short, 75, said from his home in Little Rock, Ark. "And that's what this book intends to do is show how he has done this in a very carefully crafted way. It's there, and you could make an argument for it being intentionally there, because it's done with such great care."

Short has spent four decades drawing spiritual lessons from popular culture, starting with the 1965 best-seller "The Gospel According to Peanuts," the first of his eight books. The minister also does presentations that explore religious meanings in the popular comic strip Calvin and Hobbes and the last episode of the television comedy "Cheers," set in a Boston bar. Short has the congregation sing the "Cheers" theme song before beginning his talk.

"Cheers' is very much like the church should be, in that friendship thrives in that kind of atmosphere," he said. "It's a model for what the church ought to look like, with vast friendships and so on."

While it's safe to say that the creators of "Cheers" didn't intend for the show to become sermon or Sunday school material, Short feels differently about the Dr. Seuss stories. Although he confesses to knowing little about Geisel's spirituality, Short is convinced that the children's author was tucking hidden religious messages into places like Solla Sollew.

"He never did say, I'm going to do this, I'm going to incorporate my Christian faith into my stories,'" Short said. "And I think it's fine that he didn't do that because it's up to us to draw the conclusion whether it's actually there or not."

He cites Geisel's early life — the son of Christian parents, mandatory chapel services at Oxford and Dartmouth — to show Geisel's "strong religious background." Short and Geisel met in 1978 and, after Short sent Geisel a copy of two of Short's "Peanuts" books, Geisel wrote to say that he enjoyed the way Short "handled the material."

When Short wrote the "Peanuts" books, he had the full blessing of Charlie Brown creator Charles Schulz, who sometimes quoted Scripture in the comic strip. Short has tried to contact reclusive Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson, if only to discover Watterson's intent in some of the adventures that seem to have a spiritual tint. (Watterson, in a rare question-and-answer session with online fans a few years ago, would say only: "I've never attended any church.")

For "The Parables of Dr. Seuss," Short was again left to interpret on his own. He wasn't given permission to use any Seuss artwork and could only quote short passages. Geisel died in 1991, but his widow, Audrey Geisel, has continued to promote her husband's work and is listed as an executive producer for the recent movie version of "Horton Hears a Who."

Short said he wrote Audrey Geisel a letter about his book but has not heard from her. A representative at Dr. Seuss Enterprises said no one would comment on Short's book.

However, a biography on Dr. Seuss Enterprises' official Web site notes the following: "Like most works of merit, the works of Dr. Seuss have been overanalyzed; many scholars have found devices where there are truly none to be found. For the most part, Ted enjoyed writing entertaining books that encouraged children to read." The biography cites "The Lorax" and "The Butter Battle Book" as exceptions. It also says Geisel worked to keep the 1966 animated "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" from having a "trite or overly religious" ending.