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Is Dr. Suess twaddle?
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I think Charlotte would have considered them twaddle, but we read them in our home anyway. We like the silliness and the books we own do have some kind of lesson to them. We own The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I can’t speak for any of his other books as I haven’t read them.
Personally, I would read them. They are fun and it’s a great way to learn about rhyming and words. Another author that would probably be considered twaddle is Shel Silverstein. He wrote The Giving Tree. (My sister has always loved his books which is why I’m familiar w/ who he is.) I picked up one to read w/ my dc. I thought the silly factor would help encourage them to read more poetry overall. It’s also a great play on words.
I can’t tolerate Dr. Seuss.
We have lots of his books in the house, though. DH reads them to the kids.
We enjoy Dr Seuss, and many of the books with his logo on them by other authors. They are great for early readers, and many become family favourites.
We read them. The silly factor is fun, and so is the use of imagination. Mostly I like them because they are good for early readers and I can tolerate them much better than some of the other early readers out there. My older boys are both 13 and whenever I pull out a Suess or similar book they sigh and say, “I loved that book” and more times than not I’ll find them reading it before it goes back on the shelf.
We also have (and enjoy) most books by P.D. Eastman
Honestly, one of the criteria I use to judge twaddle is if people of all ages can enjoy reading it, it’s probably not twaddle. If that’s my guiding line, then I personally don’t consider ALL of Dr. Seuss to be twaddly. Notice I said ALL. I love the Horton books, as well as Cat in the Hat and Oh, The Places You’ll Go! But, Hop on Pop and The Foot Book, eh, not so much. I think that the Horton books send excellent messages (“A person’s a person no matter how small”/”I meant what I said, and I said what I meant: An elephant’s faithful one hundred percent!”) Hello, sanctity of life and the habits of diligence, fortitude, and best effort!
I bet I’ve read the Horton books to my children a hundred times, and I still don’t get tired of them. To me, that’s an example of a good, living book. So what if it rhymes or was written by a guy named Dr. Seuss?
I have often thought about this, and I am not 100% sure that CM would say they are twaddle. I realise what would make them twaddle, but in another way, what about the Sneetches and the Lorax and the really good messages they give? I could re-read them anytime.
If they are twaddle, I think there is much worse twaddle than Dr. Seuss. At least there is a story line in his and (my) children enjoy them. I cannot say the same for “See Spot run” type of books.
Language can be playful and enjoyable. Seuss knew that. Using his books in the early years to introduce a child to the joys of words and rhythm and and the “rightness” of a clever rhyme is a gift to a child’s ear and language development, in my opinion. I wonder, if you take away the unrealistic, cartoony characters of Seuss’s books, would they be considered less twaddle? Some are really just basal readers; others are a ride on a linguistic roller coaster! Such joy, or at least they were at our house! We do not consider them twaddle, but rather a “type” of early language experience meant to teach and train the ears of little listeners to enjoy the play of language.
I was going to scroll down to write Shellyjl’s exact post so won’t add anything except to add that all three of my sons chose a Dr. Seuss to read for their very first “real” book and they are absolutely ADORED in my library. One mom cringed when her 6yo son begged to check out Hop on Pop because she thought he should make “better” choices. Then she sent an email the next day telling me she had a beautiful photo of him reading it to his 4yo brother. She said she was so glad she didn’t leave it behind. When my Chinese son was learning to read, he would literally follow right behind me all around the house reading these books…Green Eggs and Ham, The Foot Book, etc. They’re just plain fun to a child.
I agree Robin! I started reading to my firstborn when he was 6 months. One of his favorite books was The Foot Book! I read it so much that I memorized it. And when it was time for a diaper change, I would recite the book that he loved so dearly! He has been a wonderful reader ever since, and actually taught himself to read before 4. Not that Dr. Seuss had anything to do with it, LOL! But, I do believe it is because I read to him a lot at an early age and read books that were fun! That lead him to want to try to read because he loved them.
Thanks for the great responses! So many good book suggestions!
LindseyD- great point about the sanctity of life message. I had forgotten about that book.
My son, who has been reluctant reader, has been begging to read these to me but I still wish we were reading someting else -just not my first choice.
How about The Butter Battle, The King’s Stilts, Sneetches are Sneetches…Green Eggs and Ham? We LOVE Dr. Suess! My husband says he was probably a youngest of many children and was always told what couldn’t be done and specifically what HE couldn’t do and when he wrote and illustrated his books, he broke the mold and anything became possible (any guesses on my hubby’s birth order?? ;-)!! I think for the imagination they show alone, they are worthy pieces of literature that take a place in infamy! (But that’s just my 2 cents…y’all are entiltled to yours too 🙂
I remember reading somewhere that you would THINK they were twaddle, but they actually are not. I can’t remember exactly what the reasoning was, but something along the lines of them (Dr. Seuss books) being well-written and delightful to read.
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