My Favorite Dr. Seuss Story!

My favorite Dr. Seuss story is... The Sneetches!

 


Not familiar with this story? Watch it here on YouTube.

This book, published in 1961, features 4 stories: The Sneetches, The Zax, Too Many Daves, and What Was I Scared Of?








I can remember from a very young age enjoying everything about the book...except for the green pants in What Was I Scared Of, which I was...well, scared of! 

I said, “I do not fear those pants with nobody inside them.” 

I said, and said, and said those words. 

I said them.  But I lied them.   ~ Dr. Seuss

Okay, back to the Sneetches on the beaches...

As a child I liked the silliness of a story in which even I could see how ridiculous the Sneetches were acting.  I loved looking at the pictures of the Star-On and Star-Off machines, especially when the Sneetches began racing in and out of the machines in "figure 8" fashion.  Later, as a young mother, I loved sharing the book with my three little girls. As they got older I would talk with them about prejudice and discrimination and how we can sometimes get caught up in an incessant need to be "better" than others.

Another of my favorites, also from this book, is Too Many Daves, with its list of laugh out loud names that produced plenty of giggles at the Boeckman house!  I think my girls' favorite names in this story were "Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face" and "Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate"! (And, of course, they always snickered at the mention of "Oliver Boliver Butt"!)


Here is a short clip of the wonderful actor (and children's author!) John Lithgow in his role as Dr. Solomon on "Third Rock From the Sun", reading from Fox in Socks.  I share Dr. Solomon's opinion of Dr. Seuss, which he sums up so succinctly.  Enjoy!
                                                     ~ Mrs. B.