  | How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss is a children's story about the true meaning of Christmas. Written and illustrated by Theodore Seuss Geisel in 1957, it tells the story of the Grinch's vendetta against Christmas. The Grinch, a fictional character in the story who lives on Mt. Crumpet just north of Whoville, has a venomous distaste for rampant noise. With the holiday season fast approaching, and the accompanying noise ever more apparent, the Grinch comes up with a plan to ruin the merry holiday. What follows is a very interesting yet subversive display of the superficiality of Christmas - as the Grinch decides to do away with the holiday by destroying the physical trimmings and trappings commonly associated with Christmas. What a surprise at the end when he discovers that Christmas is not about presents and tinsel, but love and joy in its purest form. Not just another Seuss story for the bookshelf, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic fable who's theme is quite comparable to that of A Christmas Carol. In fact, it does one better by bringing the lessons and moral down to the level of a child in unique and imaginative ways. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a must-read during the holidays. Also, it is a must-watch! A classic film adaptation was created in 1966 and plays often on public television during the Christmas season. Finally, a more recent film featuring comedian Jim Carrey is also available. |
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
 | The Cat in the Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss is the sequel to The Cat in the Hat. It features the mischievous cat once again causing trouble for Sally and her brother, who are shoveling snow on a boring day. Another lesson in forcefulness when it comes to silly cats, the story follows the Cat as he lets himself into the house, causes a mess, and comes up with all kinds of ever-messier ways to clean it up. Finally he reveals a number of smaller cats named Little Cats A, B, C, etc... and puts them to work "cleaning up" the mess. This in turn is a disaster - but the reader will enjoy learning the alphabet in addition to finding out how the story ends. As should be expected from Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back is a great story for beginning readers, as well as a great introduction to the alphabet for those little tots. "Highly recommended."--(starred) School Library Journal. Little Cats A, B and C were also characters in the 1996 TV series The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (Little Cat N also made an appearance, but only once and some of the alphabetical cats appeared in Season 2 regularly as Little Cat Z began to be visible). |
Horton Hears a Who!
 Language: English | Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss tells the story of a lovable elephant named Horton living in the Jungle of Nool who discovers a small speck of dust with a tiny civilization of Whos living on it. Surely one of the most popular Seuss stories, Horton Hears a Who! is a tale of kindness, perseverance, and understanding. In a nutshell, when Horton discovers the tiny world of little people living on the speck of dust, he is immediately touched by their call for help. He makes up his mind right away to do whatever he can for the unseen people because "A person's a person, no matter how small." However, Horton's strong hearing makes it so he is the only one who can actually communicate with the Whos. Therefore, the other animals in the jungle think Horton is crazy, and the story is a struggle between Horton's view that the Whos exist and are important, and the other animals' view that they can't hear nor see anything Whos so therefore the Whos do not exist. This is a fantastic book for children to read not only for its enjoyable story but for the lessons that it teaches about following your heart and never giving up. No doubt you have already heard of or seen the motion picture adaptation of Horton Hears a Who!. Also notable, Horton is a prominent character in the highly popular musical Seussical. |
Fox in Socks
 Hardcover: 62 pages Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (January 12, 1965) Language: English | Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss was first published in 1965 and tells a story similar to that of Green Eggs and Ham. It features two characters, Fox and Knox, who speak in elaborately rhyming tongue-twisters. One character is stubborn and wants to be left alone, while the other is persistent in their endeavor to the point of being obnoxious. "This Fox is a tricky fox. He'll try to get your tongue in trouble," warned Dr. Seuss. The story begins by introducing the main characters and a few of the main props (socks, box, fox). Then follows a few more combinations (chicks. bricks , blocks and clocks) as Fox begins to describe the scene around them and challenges Knox to a tongue-twister duel. Fox: "Here's an easy game to play. Here's an easy thing to say... New socks. Two socks. Whose socks? Sue's socks...." In one of Seuss' best, we are compelled to read this story aloud simply to witness how our tongues trip over themselves trying to complete the story. Try reading it to your kids and you are bound to get a laugh from the ridiculous rhyming rhetoric. Or you could try this, but you might hurt yourself: |
The Cat in the Hat
 Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 72 pages Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (March 12, 1957) Language: English | The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss is most likely the most famous children's book ever written by the eclectic author. Featuring a tall cat with a bow tie and striped hat, this story is an awesome book for young readers. Dr. Seuss indirectly created The Cat in the Hat (and the rest of the beginner book series) in response to an article in Life magazine in 1954 by John Hersey, titled "Why Do Students Bog Down on First R? A local Committee Sheds Light on a National Problem: Reading." Back then, the director of Houghton Mifflin's educational division invited Seuss to dinner in Boston and challenged him to write and illustrate a book that first-graders would not want to put down. Apparently, nine months later Dr. Seuss finished The Cat in the Hat. The book uses a vocabulary of 236 words and tells the story of a cat who brings life, excitement, and chaos to an otherwise boring day for two children, a brother and sister. It is a story of mischief while mother is out, and a miraculous cleanup before mother returns. Poetic enthusiasts will be pleased to note that the story maintains a strict triple meter while telling an enjoyable tale. Finally, the Cat in the Hat was made into a movie in 2003 starring Mike Myers and it can be found here. |
Green Eggs and Ham
 Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 72 pages Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (August 12, 1960) Language: English | Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss is an awesome children's book, especially for the beginning reader. It was first published on August 12th, 1960 and as of 2001, according to Publishers Weekly, it is the fourth best-selling children's book of all time (in English). The unique attribute about this book is that it was written using only 50 words. There are two main characters whose story is told through a rhyming, rhythmic dialogue and pertains to the consumption of green eggs and ham. It's a great story for parents who want their children to eat their vegetables. Green Eggs and Ham is a Seuss Beginner Book and is written in very simple vocabulary for beginning readers (although apparently US District Court Judge James Muirhead appreciates it as well because he cited the book in a court ruling about prison diet). |
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
 Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 96 pages Publisher: Random House; First Edition edition (April 12, 1958) Language: English | Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories is a wonderful collection of stories written by Theodor Seuss Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss. First released by Random House Books on April 12, 1958, it has sold over a million copies. In 2001, Publishers Weekly reported that it had become the 125th best selling children's book of all-time. The book is written in Seuss's trademark style of flowing rhymes and rhythm using a type of meter called anapestic tetrameter. It is well known for it's first story, "Yertle the Turtle", in which Yertle, the king of the pond, builds a throne using his subjects (also turtles) in an effort to command a view of more and more of the surrounding landscape. Eventually his reign is ended by a small burp by one of his subjects, at which point Yertle's throne is shaken and he falls to the mud. Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories is classic Seuss at his best, incorporating political, cultural and sociological "lessons" if you will, that we can only hope resonate with our children profoundly. “Yertle the Turtle” The first story involves Yertle the Turtle, the king of the pond. At the beginning of the story, Yertle becomes upset that he has such a small throne, and as such he cannot see very far. Equating his line of sight with power, he commands the other turtles in the pond to stack themselves beneath him in order to create a taller throne. Unfortunately for Yertle, the turtles underneath him do not enjoy the feeling of being squished. Mack, the turtle at the bottom, repeatedly asks Yertle for a reprieve. However, Yertle tells him to be quiet and continues to call for more and more turtles to add to his throne. As Yertle's throne grows, he becomes more and more greedy for power. However, when his throne has reached stupendous heights, Yertle soon realizes that the moon is rising above him. In his anger and jealousy over being outdone by the moon, Yertle decides to order even more turtles to raise his throne even higher. But in the end, before Yertle can give the command, Mack, at the bottom of the enormous pile, gives a little burp. This burp shakes the foundations of Yertle's throne, causing the king to lose his balance and plummet into the mud of the pond, freeing the turtles and ending his rule. Tidbits
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