By Dr. Seuss
I assumed this was a classic because they made a movie. I don't have a lot of positive feelings towards this book. I mean, I'm an environmentalist, for sure, but this was pretty heavy handed.
I feel like either you tell a morality tale, or you teach kids to read with nonsense words. I guess it might be possible to combine the two, but this seems to me to be a failed attempt. Too much compromise on both counts. No kid learning to read is going to work his way through this many paragraphs.
The morality part of it seems a little far to the left. Like, of the "let's all live in the forest and eat bird droppings" variety. Understand, I'm about as left leaning as they come, politically speaking, and this book still seemed a little weird. And then the ending is kind of up in the air, which doesn't work for young kids.
My 3 year old did not understand this story at all. And was bored. It's probably appropriate for a 5 year old. By the time I was 5, I was bored with Dr. Seuss, but to each their own. Overall, I guess it's okay as a book about sustainable living, but surely there's something better out there that doesn't rhyme? Maybe even non-fiction?
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