Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”

- Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday to You! 

Dr. Seuss, born as Theodor Seuss Geisel, was born on March 2, 1904.  If he was still alive today, Dr. Seuss would be 108 years old!

Growing up, I loved reading Dr. Seuss books.  In fact, today, I still love reading them.  One of my favorite books has always been Green Eggs and Ham.

I have always loved that Dr. Seuss' books feature rhymes.  When read aloud, they have an almost musical quality to them.  Some books, such as Hop on Pop, or One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, can help beginning readers to improve their fluency and reading ability.  Other books, such as Horton Hears a Who, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and The Lorax teach valuable lessons like how to treat others.

Guess what?  Even celebrities love Dr. Seuss books!  Check out Tim Tebow reading Green Eggs and Ham...




Awesome, right?  I have always been a Tebow fan, but this makes me like him even more.  See kids, even big football players think reading is cool!

Next, check out Justin Bieber reading The Cat in the Hat.




I think it is really cool that celebrities are taking the time to show kids that reading is cool.  I can't wait to share these videos with my students one day.

Last, I thought I would share my excitement with you about a movie that hits theaters today!  Which movie you ask?  The animated movie based on Dr. Seuss' The Lorax!  The movie stars the voices of Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Danny DeVito, Ed Helms and Betty White.  If you haven't seen the trailer already, be sure to watch it!




Adorable, right???  Is anyone as excited to see it as I am?

Okay, I think I have shared enough videos for one day.  I hope that you find them entertaining (I know I do). :)

Do you love Dr. Seuss?  Are you celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday in any special way today?  Do you have any great videos of other celebrities reading Dr. Seuss books?  Please share in the comments below!  I would love to read them. :)

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It's not." 

- Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

The Worst Book Ever Written

As you may know, my major is elementary education.  Because of this, many of my professors read books to us in class that we can use later in our classrooms.  Today one of my professors read this book:

The book is Faithful Elephants: A True Story of Animals, People, and War by Yukio Tsuchiya.

Summary:  During World War II, Japanese officials decided that all of the "dangerous" animals at the Uneo Zoo in Tokyo, Japan needed to be killed.  Their reasoning was that if the zoo were to be bombed and the cages were ruined, the animals would not injure the people of Tokyo.  After killing many of the more dangerous animals, it was time to kill the three performing elephants at the zoo.  The elephants would not eat poisoned food, and their hides were too tough to puncture with needles, so they were starved to death.  It was a long and brutal death and although the zookeepers did not agree, they went along with it.  This book was based on a true story.

About halfway through reading the book, most of my classmates either had tears in their eyes or looks of disgust upon their faces.  Our professor recommended that we only read this books to fifth graders and above, and that the book could be used to show the other side of war.  Personally, I could never, ever, read this book to children.  I feel that it could possibly be used in upper levels (middle to high school) in a World War II unit, but even then, I probably couldn't read it.  The language of the book is horribly descriptive and the illustrations are even more vivid.

What upset me most of all was that my professor mentioned that she read the book to a classroom of students after many of their parents had been deployed in the Gulf War.  The purpose was to show them that negative effects of war.  I was shocked.  How could that be an appropriate use for this book???  When used in that context, it makes military men and women look like cruel elephant killers.  Is that the message we should give children about their parents?  Especially while their parents are deployed.  I understand that we should view both sides of every conflict, but I do not think that it was an appropriate time or place for it.  I also know that many people do not agree with wars, and you are entitled to your opinion.  However, I feel that my professor chose an inappropriate time and place to read this book.

What do you think?  Have you read the book?  Do you think my professor picked a good time to read the book?  Do you think that all books can be read at any time, or do you think that certain books should only be read at certain times?