Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss
March 2, 2010 | Birthday,Books
I’ve said before that we love Dr. Seuss in this house. We have plenty Dr. Seuss books on the shelf, but we have several everywhere else — in the dollhouse, beside pillows and under covers, on the coffee table, in the toybox, in the bathroom. My kids enjoyed looking through my old My Book About Me By Me, which I got when I was about their age. They each got one last year for Christmas.
As I look at the titles, I realize we have read every one of them, some of them many, many times (we went through a serious Horton Hears a Who! phase a while back). We love them all. Well, I don’t care much for Fox in Socks. That was a dirty, dirty trick, Dr. Seuss, that would drive any parent to drink. At least the ones who actually try to read it out loud at bedtime. I mean, c’mon.
Through three cheese trees
three free fleas flew.
While these fleas flew,
freezy breeze blew.
Freezy breeze made
these three trees freeze.
Freezy trees made
these trees’ cheese freeze.
That’s what made these
three free fleas sneeze.
(from Fox in Sox: A Tongue Twister for Super Children by Dr. Seuss)
Seriously? Children. “You have em, I’ll entertain em.” Indeed, Dr. Smart-Aleck.
But really. You gave us The Eye Book, The Foot Book and The Sleep Book. Green Eggs and Ham and Hop on Pop. The Lorax, Sneetches and the Grinch. Most of all, you gave us playful rhythms, language acrobatics and a wonderful carnival ride into the world of your imagination.
If we didn’t have birthdays, you wouldn’t be you.
If you’d never been born, well then what would you do?
If you’d never been born, well then what would you be?
You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree!
You might be a doorknob! Or three baked potatoes!
You might be a bag full of hard green tomatoes.
Or worse than all that . . . Why, you might be a WASN’T!
A Wasn’t has no fun at all. No, he doesn’t.
A Wasn’t just isn’t. He just isn’t present.
But you . . . You ARE YOU! And, now isn’t that pleasant! (from Happy Birthday to You! by Dr. Seuss)
We’re so glad you had a birthday and that YOU were YOU. Thank you for that. And from all of us in my home, happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Nicely done. It’s crazy DS week at the boys’ school. I can’t believe how many books we haven’t read…Harry’s favorite at the moment is Wacky Wednesday, and it seems that few have heard of it. Do you like the Kohl’s stuffed characters? The boys love them. Thanx for the smiles!
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:01 pm
I am so with you on Fox in Socks. It trips me up every single time!
March 2nd, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Yet another excellent blog post!!!
You just seem to keep ’em coming.
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Cyndi, I’d never heard of Kohl’s Dr. Seuss collection. Just looked it up. Cool!
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Cyndi, even better! I see that 100 percent of the proceeds go to children’s programs.
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:50 pm
Aww, thanks, Will!
March 2nd, 2011 at 2:10 pm
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