Saturday, July 11

Uncommon Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss seems to get the most credit and recognition for just a few of his books: The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas being two of the most beloved. However, the cat in the hat can be considered comparably dull next to many of his other creations. If you like Dr. Seuss (or if you just like fun), try these other books.

Scrambled Eggs Super
--A young Peter T. Hooper gather eggs from birds all over the planet to create his amazing scrambled egg dish. You just know all those birds are going to have hilarious names.

Batholomew and the Oobleck
--Batholomew, assistant to the king, saves the day when his boss decides to have his magicians conjure up some new weather. The sky begins to shoot down sticky green oobleck that covers the entire kingdom. A touching story about being content with what you have and admitting when you're wrong (even if you happen to be royal)

McElligot's Pool
--Who knows what you might find in McElligot's pool. It might include wonderfully rendered cowfish, rooster fish or thing-a-ma-jiggers.

The 500 Hats of Batholomew Cubbins
--didn't know Dr. Seuss had recurring characters*? Well dear old Bart returns with a crazy assortment of head coverings.

*He makes it into one more Dr. Seuss story called The King's Stilts. If you grow to love Master Cubbins you may want to check this one out, too.

Other notable favourites: If I Ran the Zoo, Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose (I don't know if the large-hearted Horton was pre- or post- Thidwick), On Beyond Zebra, The Cats Quizzer, I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today

Note: While checking the wiki-list to be sure that I hadn't missed any of his greatest I came across The Seven Lady Godivas....where none of them wears clothes. Apparently this was Geisel's one and only illustrated adult book.

No comments: