McElligot's Pool by Dr. Seuss

Amazon.com Review: McElligot's Pool is a Seuss classic from the distant era before even The Cat In The Hat. It's a single poetic variation on the theme of adult skepticism that's no match for childhood faith and daydreaming. A small boy is fishing in the tiny, unpromising McElligot's Pool, a puddle that (as a passing farmer informs our diminutive hero) is nothing but a hole where people dispose of their junk. But the boy is all optimism: what if the pool is deeper than anyone thinks? What if it connects to an underground stream that flows under the town to the sea? Might not all sorts of fish then swim up the stream and be caught here? "I might catch an eel... (Well, I might. It depends.) A long twisting eel with a lot of strange bends. And, oddly enough, with a head at both ends!" The moral of the story is straightforward: "If I wait long enough, if I'm patient and cool, Who knows what I'll catch in McElligot's pool?"

First line:
"Young man," laughed the farmer,
"You're sort of a fool!
You'll never catch fish
in McElligot's Pool!"

My thoughts: This book was first published in 1947. Once again we follow Marco (From And To Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street) on an imaginative quest. When told there is nothing in the pool he imagines what could be. The delightful illustrations, which alternate between watercolors and B&W, picturing the ever more fantastic fish that might be in the pool are wonderful to look at. As always, Dr. Seuss' rhyming lines and nonsense words make this fun to read.

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Amazon.com Review: When Dr. Seuss gets serious, you know it must be important. Published in 1971, and perhaps inspired by the "save our planet" mindset of the 1960s, The Lorax is an ecological warning that still rings true today amidst the dangers of clear-cutting, pollution, and disregard for the earth's environment. In The Lorax, we find what we've come to expect from the illustrious doctor: brilliantly whimsical rhymes, delightfully original creatures, and weirdly undulating illustrations. But here there is also something more--a powerful message that Seuss implores both adults and children to heed.
The now remorseful Once-ler--our faceless, bodiless narrator--tells the story himself. Long ago this enterprising villain chances upon a place filled with wondrous Truffula Trees, Swomee-Swans, Brown Bar-ba- loots, and Humming-Fishes. Bewitched by the beauty of the Truffula Tree tufts, he greedily chops them down to produce and mass-market Thneeds. ("It's a shirt. It's a sock. It's a glove. It's a hat.") As the trees swiftly disappear and the denizens leave for greener pastures, the fuzzy yellow Lorax (who speaks for the trees "for the trees have no tongues") repeatedly warns the Once-ler, but his words of wisdom are for naught. Finally the Lorax extricates himself from the scorched earth (by the seat of his own furry pants), leaving only a rock engraved "UNLESS." Thus, with his own colorful version of a compelling morality play, Dr. Seuss teaches readers not to fool with Mother Nature. But as you might expect from Seuss, all hope is not lost--the Once-ler has saved a single Truffula Tree seed! Our fate now rests in the hands of a caring child, who becomes our last chance for a clean, green future. (Ages 4 to 8)

My thoughts: I love this book and have read it many times over the years to my classes. This book has been considered quite controversial and has even been banned on grounds that it "criminalizes the forestry industry." There are many activities to be found online to go along with this book. Or, it is just fun to read.

Quotes:
1."So I quickly invented my Super-Axe-Hacker
which whacked off four Truffula Trees at one smacker."

2. "Once-ler!" he cried with a cruffulous croak.
"Once-ler! You're making such smogulous smoke!
My poor Swomee-Swans ... why, they can't sing a note!
No one can sing who has smog in his throat."

And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street by Dr. Seuss

Amazon.com Review: Marco is in a pickle. His father has instructed him to keep his eyes peeled for interesting sights on the way to and from school, but all Marco has seen is a boring old horse and wagon. Imagine if he had something more to report, say, a zebra pulling the wagon. Or better yet, the zebra could be pulling a blue and gold chariot. No, wait! Maybe it should be a reindeer in that harness. Marco's story grows ever more elaborate as he reasons that a reindeer would be happier pulling a sled, then that a really unusual sight would be an elephant with a ruby-bedecked rajah enthroned on top. "Say! That makes a story that no one can beat, / When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street." Time and again, Marco tops himself until he is positively wound up with excitement and bursts into his home to tell his dad what he saw on Mulberry Street.

My thoughts: Since Dr. Seuss' birthday is in March I thought that my Picture Books this month should be by the man himself. This one, first published in 1937, is one of my favorites. The pictures start out small and simple but by the end they are elaborate, spanning two pages each as you follow Marco in his quest to think of something really cool to tell his dad. In the end he simply tells the truth.

There was so much to tell, I JUST COULDN'T BEGIN!
Dad looked at me sharply and pulled at his chin.
He frowned at me sternly from there in his seat,
"Was there nothing to look at...no people to greet?
Did nothing excite you or make your heart beat?"

"Nothing," I said, growing red as a beet,
"But a plain horse and wagon on Mulberry Street."

What a great book for encouraging imagination! You and your kids will love the rhyme and rhythm of the words as well as looking at the details of the pictures.