"Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!"
About this Quote
The subtext is more pointed than it looks. “No one alive” widens the frame from classroom to cosmos; it’s not merely “you’re special,” it’s “you are unrepeatable,” a claim that dodges comparison culture before it even begins. The invented grammar of “you-er” matters: English doesn’t have a clean comparative for identity, so Seuss builds one. That’s the trick - language itself can be bent to fit the self, not the other way around. He’s modeling permission: if the words don’t work, make new ones.
Contextually, this sits in Seuss’s broader project of using absurdity as ethics. His work often argues that systems - whether social rules or adult seriousness - are arbitrary, and imagination is a form of dissent. Here, the dissent is gentle but firm: be yourself, yes, but also trust that your self is real enough to stand on without outside approval.
Quote Details
| Topic | Self-Love |
|---|---|
| Source | Unverified source: Happy Birthday to You! (Dr. Seuss, 1959)
Evidence: This line appears in Dr. Seuss’s picture book Happy Birthday to You!, first published in 1959. The publisher/rights-holder’s official Seussville listing reproduces the exact sentence and gives publication details (including Aug 12, 1959 and the ISBN). Many listings note the book is effectively un... Other candidates (2) A Cell Call from Paul (David Waddell, 2022) compilation94.7% ... Dr. Seuss would put it , " Today you are you ! That is truer than true . There is no one alive who is you - er th... Dr. Seuss (Dr. Seuss) compilation38.7% me you were shown that you really dont know all there is to be known the cat in the hat 1957 the sun did n |
| Featured | This quote was our Quote of the Day on November 10, 2023 |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Seuss, Dr. (2026, January 11). Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/today-you-are-you-that-is-truer-than-true-there-30906/
Chicago Style
Seuss, Dr. "Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!" FixQuotes. January 11, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/today-you-are-you-that-is-truer-than-true-there-30906/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!" FixQuotes, 11 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/today-you-are-you-that-is-truer-than-true-there-30906/. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.












