We all know about “The Cat In The Hat”, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”, and “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish”, but here are a couple other Seuss books you may have missed that my daughter and I really enjoy. The first is “Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book” (1962), which leads us through a story of sleep beginning with one yawning bug named Van Vleck. It continues through the falling asleep of many other Seussian creatures, counting up the number of sleepers as we read along, until the end when everyone is sleeping but you. Be careful before agreeing to read this one at bedtime, because it’s a pretty long book!
“Ninety-nine zillion, nine trillion and two
Creatures are sleeping! So…how about you?
When you put out your light, then the number will be
Ninety-nine zillion, nine trillion and three.”
The other book is “Happy Birthday To You!” (1959). We should all be so lucky to have a birthday like the one the little boy in this book has. I think it would be fun to make a tradition of reading this book to each family member on the day of their birthday (including Mom and Dad). Reading this book (as well as the Sleep Book), you can really get a sense of how much fun Dr. Seuss must have had writing the verses:
“They smell like licorice! And cheese!
Send forty Who-Bubs up the trees
To snip with snippers! Nip with nippers!
Clip and clop with clapping clippers.
Nip and snip with clipping cloppers!
Snip and snop with snipping snoppers!
All for you, the Who-Bubs clip!
Happy Birthday! Nop and nip!”
Both books are pretty wordy, so I would recommend them for 3-year-olds and up. Enjoy!
Filed under: Picture Books, Preschooler Books | Tagged: Dr. Seuss
