Archive for March 27th, 2008
Thursday, March 27th, 2008Reading With Dr. Seuss
In honor of the birthday of Dr. Seuss (March 2, 1904), I dragged out two of my favorite Seuss books. One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish was a gift from my Nana on my 2nd birthday. The cover is tattered and worn - a sign of being re-read many, many times. I remember giggling as I read this book - laughing at the Yink who ‘likes to wink, he likes to drink. he likes to drink, and drink, and drink. The thing he likes to drink is ink.‘ And Zans who was adept at opening cans: ‘Have you a Zans for cans? You should.‘ The interesting thing about reading Seuss as an adult, is that I see the underlying message…in this book, he shows how the world is made up of all different kinds of creatures; creatures who don’t look like us, and are even different from each other (like the fish who can be black or blue or old or new or have a star, etc…). Seuss demonstrates how full and wonderful the world is with all these individuals in it. He gives kids an appreciation of being different and unique. What a great message!
The second book I pulled from my bookcase was McElligot’s Pool - which I got for my third birthday in 1963. Oh how I adored this book. The idea that a tiny pool might connect to the huge ocean and beyond just entranced me. In McElligot’s Pool, hope springs eternal:
‘Oh the sea is so full of a number of fish, If a fellow is patient, he might get his wish!‘
Once again, Seuss shows us a bigger message - to dream, to hope, to not let disappointment stop us.
Dr. Seuss was a wonderful, classic children’s author. His illustrations and magical rhyming words take children (and adults) into a world full of wonder and joy. Thankfully, I will never be too old to read Dr. Seuss!