Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
It's Dr. Seuss' birthday! A perfect occasion for celebrating an iconic author, don't you think?
It's tempting to try to set such a post in a bouncy rhyme, of course, but I'm sure there are a few thousand of those sprouted up over the internet today by people far bouncier and rhymier than I. Instead, I'd like to tell you a little bit about why his books are so wildly recommendable for reading together.
Rhyme, for starters, is a wonderful device, and it's easy to see why it is so widely used in children's works. It makes for fairly fluent reading once you get the metre, and it stresses the ending sounds of words, something that helps kids in their path toward reading by revealing pronunciations, highlighting word families, and making it easier to anticipate that next word. Try letting kids fill in those last words that complete the rhymes – it's a fun game!
Speaking of fun, it is another essential reason why Dr. Seuss reads are such good choices. simply put, if kids enjoy books and the experience of reading and being read to, they will be drawn to doing it more, and who could help but be drawn into the kooky, madcap world in Seuss books? The fact that many of them are beginning readers, too, means that those eager kids can savour the longer stories with readers, but still have fun decoding something easier for themselves. Perfection!
Want to extend the joy to some activities, or even a party? It's a great way to solidify what you've read and remind a child of the reading experience, so it's a wonderful idea. There is a nice roundup of some Seuss-themed crafts for kids here to get you started – or let your imagination run wild, like the good Dr. would!
To celebrate, of course, everyone needs cake on their birthday. How about this one? Perfectly Seussian!
(Image via CakeWrecks, cake by Karen's Specialty Cakes)
One thought on “Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!”
My daughter had the opportunity to attend a birthday party which included the Lorax movie, but was scared from the theatre during the (loud) previews. Fortunately we borrowed a copy of that book from the library, so the wonderful message it contains has not been lost. The Bippolo Seed & Other Lost Stories is also a wonderful find. It is no wonder so many authors copy this style. They do it very wonderfully here are a few other examples we have picked up at the library lately – http://emergingreaders.com/2011/12/12/a-good-rhyme/