Thank you, Thank you, Sam I Am!

In celebration of Dr. Suess's birthday on Saturday, March 2nd, the kids and I tucked into the couch with our giant Your Favorite Suess compilation.  We ended up reading a few of the classics: Green Eggs and Ham, The Sneetches, The Lorax, Dr. Suess's Sleep Book, and of course, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.   I went along with their pleas for "Just one more!" with pleasure, knowing that there's no such thing as too much Suess.

Dr. Suess is one of the safe bets, and if you're a parent dedicated to reading to your children, I'm preaching to the choir.  You know as well as I do that his humor, whimsy, and quality language set him apart.  His are books that stand the test of repeated readings.  A good thing, too, because they are sure to be repeated!

There's something more about Dr Suess that I may not have realized at first.  His books are so widely popular that they create the beginning of a shared cultural knowledge base.   My kids may not understand the reference I make to Hamlet yet, but if I refer to the Grinch, they get it.  We refer to the characters and stories of Dr. Suess well into our adulthood.  The themes and morals mature along with us.

The stories create a place for children and adults to talk about timeless themes. Racism.  Equality.  Environmentalism.  By reading Dr. Suess with my kids I am not only introducing them to these issues, but I am giving them a toolbox of safe metaphors with which to discuss them.  They can refer to sneetches and their belly stars long before they need to learn the ugly truths about hate crimes and segregated lunch counters.  They can learn from the Lorax about caring for the earth without yet delving into the intricacies of foreign oil dependence or global warming.  His stories provide a bridge between the innocence of childhood and the complexities of adult life.

Plus, you'll want them to understand jokes like this someday, won't you??