It's D-lightful!

Sometimes when I'm having trouble getting to sleep at night, I lie in my bed and recite Dr.Seuss books to myself. Oddly enough, it works. And only a mom or an early childhood educator would know the books well enough to recite them from memory! "Dr.Seuss' ABC" is the one I know the best, because when I taught preschool and kindergarten, I always used it to introduce letters and sounds. Besides, I have now had it read to me at least 150 times by eager beginning readers. It's a wonder I don't dream of Seuss - but that could be scary...

"ABC" begins with the immortal "Aunt Annie's alligator, A,a,a" and ends with "I am a Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz, as you can plainly see." In between is a delightful collection of zany nonsense, like a duck-dog, an ostrich oiling an orange owl, and "Uncle Ubb's umbrella, and his UNDERWEAR, too!" If you want to get the attention of a class of young children, just say the word "underwear." Works every time. Cleverly, Seuss used several sounds for each vowel, so that kids get a broader concept of the possibilities rather than just "A for apple...E for elephant..." The letter 'C' has a "camel on the ceiling", thus showing that C can have either a hard or soft sound. A few diagraphs and blends are also introduced, such as "ow", "oi" "kn" and "dr." Thus kids can see and hear connections without even realizing it, and when they read the words, the recognition comes naturally.

The rhymes and the pictures are very appealing. Of course, the illustration of Uncle Ubb in his underwear is guaranteed to bring on hysterical laughter, but the duck-dog, the googoo goggles, and the "four fluffy feathers on a Fieffer Feffer Feff" are almost as likely to evoke at least a few giggles. Personally, I like the "many mumbling mice" who are "making music in the moonlight" and the "ten tired turtles on a Tuttle-tuttle tree." Seuss was a master at mixing the real and the fanciful in such a way that you wouldn't be surprised at all to see a cat in a hat walk through your front door. I once read that Seuss' work was "like a karate chop to the weary little world of Dick, Jane, and Spot." Amen to that, and thank God and Dr.Seuss for books that make children WANT to learn to read!