Green Eggs and Ham Hardcover – Picture Book, 1 Jun. 1960

GREEN EGGS came before the famout Cat. That, as a 5-year-old, was the sequence in which I encountered The Master. Even at that tender age, I somehow knew that no one wielded a dip-pen (not a fountain pen) with greater skill than the cartoonist from Springfield, Mass. Years, and dozens of nibs and pens later (including the Esterbrook used by his contemporary, Charles Schulz), I was none the wiser as to how Seuss managed that impossible combination of anarchic, even violent line and masterly control.It remains a mystery.Even cartoonists I admire, like the late great Terry Willers, never even attempted the broad, sweeping line that lent the reckless Cat — or the arguably more subversive Sam-I-Am — such a force-of-nature uncontrollability.Much emphasis has been placed on the didactic value of his rhyming system. Indeed, at the height of the many mid-1960s battles between the phonetic and word-recognition schools of thought, no better evidence could be offered for the phonetic partisans his memorable couplets: “Would you eat it with a fox? Would you eat it in a box?”While Seuss remains, in absolute terms, a master, as draughtsman and surreally comic writer, he also triumphs by comparison. Peers of his time, and respected writers of ours, never quite manage the always-present, and often emphasised sense of violence and anarchy which is the forbidden pleasure of childhood. Some don't even try: the Care Bears mentality — everything anodyne, everyone caring and sharing — is, paradoxically, more subversive than The Great One's frank contempt for such priggishness.There's a naughty child in all of us.By having the Cat, or Sam-I-Am, play out that role to the full, the better part of ourselves is left to tidy our rooms and finish our vegetables. Well, most of the time...

A fun read, bought for a four year old who understood the story.

Everything is perfect

I had heard that Dr Seuss was great but found that this book was rather thin. The characterisation was generally weak and there was little or no back story. I struggled to understand what the motivations and desires of Sam, the principal character, were. He seems driven, no obsessed, to force his friend to eat food that is clearly rotten. Ultimately his friend, who appears to have no name, is worn down by Sam's persistence to the point that he actually eats the rotten food and declares that he actually likes it. I have struggled to determine whether this is a an attempt by the learned doctor to make a statement about the extent to which modern society wastes food,the risks to society of food security in a booming global population or whether it as allegory about the power of advertising to make trick us into liking products we neither like, nor desire. I found no cross references to any validatory research papers and I am therefore troubled that when my son is old enough to read this book that he will be at risk of misunderstanding the message that the Dr is trying to put across.I had been thinking of buying Dr Seuss's Sleep Book for my own insomnia but now feel that this may just be full on pseudoscience.

A masterpiece both of worldbuilding and of steadily mounting narrative tension which combine in a taut and compelling psychological drama that will stay long in the memory.

I always wanted these books as a child, bought them countless times for friends children and now I can buy them for my own. My little boy started a bedtime routine at 4 months so I picked up a few books for Christmas and this was number one of the Dr Seuss books on my list.At 7 months we've been reading for a while now and although he cant understand the story yet, my baby boy has been absolutely facinated since an early stage with looking at the bright colourful pages and watching me read.Great addition to any library and for all ages to enjoy.

My 5 year old daughter loves Dr Seuss, we have most of his books and read them over and over, she finds them hysterically funny! She is beginning to read sections of this book herself too; the word repetition is great for her learning as well as creating a fun rhythm and it really boosts her confidence knowing she can read more than the assigned school reading books.

Bought for my daughter to practice for her audition great lil book