The Wonderful Tales From The Mind Of Dr. Seuss!
The Wonderful Tales From The Mind Of Dr. Seuss!
Theodor Seuss Geisel, more commonly known as "Dr. Seuss", has written some of the most memorable children's tales of all time! By now I'm certain you have likely deduced, this is about stories from the great Dr. Seuss!
Theodor Seuss Geisel, more commonly known as "Dr. Seuss", has written some of the most memorable children's tales of all time! By now I'm certain you have likely deduced, this is about stories from the great Dr. Seuss!
"Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!"
Dr. Seuss
Horton Hatches the Egg (1940)
This story follows an elephant named Horton, who is tricked into sitting on a bird's egg. Meanwhile, Mayzie the bird goes on a vacation to Palm Springs. While Horton is sitting in the tree his jungle friends laugh at him, he is captured by hunters, forced into a terrible voyage on the sea, and even placed in a travelling circus! Horton refused to break his word by leaving the nest, and kept telling everyone: "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one hundred percent!"
Horton Hatches the Egg - Merry Melodies (1942)
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Horton Hears a Who (1954)
The second tale to feature Horton the elephant. This time he hears a speck of dust talking to him. He assumes there must be a small person who lives on the speck, but discovers that it is actually a tiny planet. On that speck of a planet live the microscopic Whos, and it is the mayor of Whoville that asks Horton to protect their world from harm. Horton happily agrees and places the speck on a clover for safekeeping. He is harassed by the other animals of course, for his belief in Whoville and the Whos. They steal his speck on a clover, fly it across the land, and eventually drop it into a large field of clovers. Horton eventually finds the Whos, and gets them to make as much noise as they can. Upon finally hearing them, the other animals vow to help Horton protect his little speck.
This book was adapted into a a television special in 1970, as well as a feature-length film in 2008!
A Person's A Person, No Matter How Small!
Horton
Horton Hears A Who
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957)
This one might just be his most recognized work! "How The Grinch Stole Christmas!" is about a creature known as the Grinch. The Grinch lives on a mountain just north of Whoville, and he hates Christmas a lot! He tries to ruin the holiday for all the Whos by stealing their presents and decorations, but that does not deter them from their special celebrations. In the end it is the Grinch that learns what Christmas is really all about, and he even joins the Whos for their Christmas feast!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! - TV Special (1966)
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Green Eggs and Ham
"Green Eggs and Ham" is a tale about Sam-I-Am. He loves to eat green eggs and ham! He continually asks an unnamed character if there is any way he'd like the green meal: on a train, on a plane, in the rain, etc. The character just keeps responding "I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam-I-Am." That is, until he finally tries them. That's when he thanks Sam for introducing him to green eggs and ham!
To win a bet with his publisher, Seuss wrote this entire book using a vocabulary of only 50 words!
The Sneetches and Other Stories (1961)
This one is a collection of four stories: "The Sneetches," "The Zax," "Too Many Daves," and "What Was I Scared Of?" The first two tales were also adapted for a TV special which also included "Green Eggs and Ham." This book was translated and distributed by NATO to children in Bosnia to encourage tolerance.
The Sneetches learn not to judge one another by which of them have stars on their belly and which of them do not. So they finally accept one another, regardless of which have stars!
Wisdom From The Sneetches
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The Zax
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"The Zax" has two main characters: the north-going Zax, and the south-going Zax. They eventually meet each other and very stubbornly refuse to move east or west and so stand facing one another arguing. Over time the world moves on, and a highway is built around the two standing Zax... who stand "unbudged in their tracks."
The Lorax (1971)
Like "Horton Hears a Who", "The Lorax" has been adapted twice. It has a TV special, and a feature-length film. The Lorax speaks for the trees, and the "Once-ler" has come to chop them all down to make garments called "Thneeds". Once-ler learned his lesson though, long after cutting down all the Truffula trees, and tells the story of the Lorax to a small boy living in the now polluted area. He then gives the boy the last Truffula seed, telling the boy "unless someone cares a great deal, the situation will never improve"... a lesson from the Lorax that he finally understood.