Tuesday 7 August 2012

I Despise Dr Seuss

Do you have books that you despise reading to your children?  I have ones that I refuse to read to them and do not like having at our house.  We read a lot of books here but there is NO WAY that I would EVER read Dr Seuss books to them.  I can't stand them.



The text go an and on and on and lead no where and my stomach twists in knots when I have to read  the rot.

My case in point:
Bump
Bump!
Bump!
Did you ever ride a Wump?
We have a Wump
with just one hump.

But
we know a man
called Mr. Gump.
Mr. Gump has a seven hump Wump.
So...
if you like to go Bump! Bump!
Just jump on the hump of the Wump of Gump

Seriously Seuss?  What were you thinking?

His 44 books follow exactly the same pattern.  All have bright silly pictures, easy rhymes that are repetitious, pointless and obscure and all have snarly-faced crazy creatures.  In my opinion the illustrations far out weigh the words or lack of words in the books.

In generally my kids have a good imagination.  I remember when they were young  and they'd read and re-read the text and tell me that the words were 'rubbish' and they're right.

Here are just a few...



  • zummers
  • zizzer-zazzer-zuzz
  • yuzz-a-ma-tuzz
  • nizzards
  • ham-ikka-schnim-ikka-schnam-ikka-schnopp
  • fiffer-feffer-fef
  • yekko
  • flunnel
  • jogg-oons
  • zatz-it
  • floob-boober-bab-boober-bubs
  • spazzim
  • thnadners
  • sneedle
  • glikker
  • humpf-humpf-a-dumpfer
  • wumbus
  • yuzz


  • I have taught children who have struggled to read because of these words.  Their parents would list a Dr Seuss book as a 'home' reader and in the comment column write that "X" struggled with this book because of the words.  Seuss' words AREN'T WORDS!.  They're nonsense made up of syllables to make everything rhyme.   The grammar is skewed to fit the rhymes.  How does that help a child learn?

    Why have our children been made to worship a man who wrote absolute garbage?

    Not at our house.  No way! NEVER!

    2 comments:

    1. My kids loved Hop on Pop when they were small, so much so we used it on a label for a quilt we made their dad one fathers day.

      http://plainjanecreations.blogspot.com.au/2007/04/hop-on-pop.html

      My son is profoundly dyslexic, now 20 and in the Navy and thriving. He struggled with reading, did the reading recovery programme at Primary School and was under Professor Whiting at Sydney Uni for many years. I was happy if he read the cereal box so reading Dr Seuss was fine with me, so long as he was enjoying himself. They have a place in the shelves of our library room and I hope to read them to grandkids one day. The primary school principal even gifted a copy of The Lorax to our son, it is the most wonderful story. Give Dr Seuss another go I say.

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      Replies
      1. Oh, I love the quilt. What a special memory.

        I agree with you on reading 'anything'. I have taught children who only gained enjoyment for reading when they read a particular genre, author or series of books. I am with you on reading anything. I just find the skewed grammar and 'creative' words in Dr Seuss hard to deal with when children had difficulty de-coding words or comprehending a text. I'm so glad that it helped your son, though and that he enjoyed the stories.

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