Celebrating Dr. Seuss with lesser known books, quotes, and characters!
Maybe as you read Dr. Seuss to your kids, the rhymes and writing style leave you tongue-tied. Your kids laugh, because that’s half the fun, but you can’t remember your own parents or teachers ever slipping while reading Green Eggs and Ham. As sure as Sam I Am ended up liking green eggs and ham, your parents experienced the same tongue twisters the first dozen times you made them read Dr. Seuss to you.
As we celebrate Dr. Seuss Day on March 2 (and maybe throughout the month), your child will be enthralled with all things Seussical. Of course you and the kids will spend time in the pages of Dr. Seuss favorites, but what if you could dazzle them with a few fun facts of your own?
Dr. Seuss’s Lesser Known Books
As a child you may recall some of the silly rhymes and lovable characters Dr. Seuss included in his books. You may even fall in love all over again as you read some of your favorites to your own kids. Dr. Seuss’s collection has remained popular, but what about some of his lesser known books? How many have you read?
- The Sneetches and Other Stories
- Yertle the Turtle
- The Butter Battle Book
- Did I ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?
- If I Ran the Zoo
- McElligot’s Pool
- Bartholomew and the Oobleck
- The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
- And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
- Hooper Humperdink…..? Not Him!
- I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today!
- Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!
- Daisy-Head Mayzie
- Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose
- Scrambled Eggs Super!
- On Beyond Zebra!
- Wacky Wednesday
- The Shape of Me and Other Stuff
- I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew
Dr. Seuss’s Most Lovable Characters
The child in all of us can recall our most memorable Dr. Seuss character. Some of these have come to life over the years in television shows and movies! Your child may be able to identify some of these from seeing them on TV, but can they recall the original story? Find these lovable characters in a Dr. Seuss book and read about them together:
- The Lorax
- Horton
- The Cat in the Hat
- The Grinch
- The Sneetches
- Sam I Am
- Yertle the Turtle
- The Old Man
- Hop on Pop
- Gerald McGrew
Dr. Seuss’s Most Memorable Quotes
As kids it may not have been obvious what each one of Dr. Seuss’s stories was teaching us. Children today reading the funny rhymes may also be lost as to the meaning behind each story. Each story had a memorable punch line, a verse that stuck with the readers and eventually made sense. Even now, to commemorate special events and accomplishments, those stick-with-you lines reappear and speak volumes.
From I Can Read with my Eyes Shut
“There are so many things you can learn about, but you’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.”
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
From The Lorax
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
From Oh The Places You’ll Go!
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
From One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
“If you never did you should. These things are fun. And fun is good.”
“From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere.”
“Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow another one.”
From Horton Hears a Who!
“Don’t give up! I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small. And you very small persons will not have to die if you make yourselfs heard! So come on, now, and TRY!”
This month, as you enjoy Dr. Seuss and his many different works, don’t worry about any blunders. Just like you, your children will not remember hearing any mistakes from you when they one day read Dr. Seuss to their kids. Read some of the books you haven’t heard before and always try to uncover the lessons Dr. Seuss wove through his stories.