What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) (Random House, 2015, 48 pages, $17.99, ages
3-7)
A New Old Book
Another new book by an old author is out for the first time.
The other is Go Set a Watchman by
Harper Lee: this one is What Pet Should I
Get? by Dr. Seuss.
The classic tale of two kids who can’t make up their
minds. The classic question of what pet
to get. . . . Who hasn’t been in this situation, if not with pets, at least
with indecision about something. How will the children decide and which pet
will they decide on? Or will they?
The big brother and little sister take themselves to the pet
store - alone (I know, pet stores today, reputable pet stores at least, do not
sell all kinds of pets but this book was drafted more than 50 years ago – and
today it may be the big sister and little brother) in this story related by the
brother. Today it would be written by the sister most likely and the children
would not be permitted to walk to the pet store alone.
They have until noon so must make up their minds soon – dog
or cat, rabbit, fish or bird – if they can’t pick one, they may end up with
none!
Ah, 50 years ago, it was the brother who made the final
decision but what pet did he get? Ah, you will have to read the book to find
out and even then you will be pleasantly surprised!
The last few pages are for grown-up children and relate how
Dr. Seuss became an overnight sensation after only 20 years as an author, how
he would spend hours and hours debating punctuation, months and months on
character development, and how the illustrations were also his own. He colored
them by numbers.
What Pet may not
be the best Seuss book (it is quite dated: the boy gets to choose the children's pet and relates the tale) but it does have a few unforgettable sentences that will
surely live on, and have, into the next century!
Thanks to Dr. Seuss (1904 – 1991), many children (and their
parents) read sing-song books by heart and laugh out loud as the words play
with each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment