Green Eggs and Ham

Did you know there was a Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook? I didn't until I was searching for this one to mark it as read. Wow. This was our read for Day 1 of our Memoria Press Junior Kindergarten and it was the first time I read it to my new preschooler. She loved it and talked about it and what was happening later. “He liked it, mama, he really did!” I think that as she begins to decipher words and read aloud herself, this would be a great one to come back to as I'm sure everyone has agreed for years.


http://www.barnesandnoble.com/storytime/

Now that I've got a toddler and have revisited all my old Dr. Seuss books, I've come to the decision that this is my favorite picture book of all. I love rhythm, the rhyme, the pictures. Best of all is the philosophy, “try it you may like it!” or just simply “be open, welcoming and tolerant.” A great lesson to teach your kids. Plus, the end when he tries and likes green eggs and ham – it's a a moment as joyful and wondrous as Scrooge celebrating on Christmas morning. Love it and love reading it aloud. The other day, I had the pleasure of hearing my kid “reading” this book on his own in his crib: “I am Sam. I am Sam. On a train! In the dark! In a tree!” It was the best.

Supposedly the result of a bet, to see if he could write a full story with the smallest amount of words. What has resulted is an ultimate set of rhyming whimsy. Dr Seuss is at his most Dr Seuss here. Again, behind the funny rhymes there is an important message to the child - you have to try things before you decide you don't like them! That being said, having actually tried green died eggs before (a university tradition for St Chad's College in Durham UK...) there is something extremely off-putting about green eggs...

Anyway, having a young daughter is proving an excellent excuse to dive into these fun children's books. This has always been one of my favourite Seuss books