Guest Author: Jay Brown
First of all, let me honor the great Doctor on his birthday by saying I love Dr. Seuss.
When I was six, I flipped over the handlebars of my blue Huffy and landed in the hospital with a concussion. My guilt-ridden mom would have done anything for me that night. And, thus, she endured reading me Fox in Socks… and again … and again. All. Night. Long.
Shift ahead more than a few years. I’m a dad now, with my own little Cindy Lou Who. As the dad of my own little Cindy Lou Who, I have a new perspective on the books. And so I offer you up:
A Dad’s Top 7 Dr. Seuss Lessons …
1. Cindy Lou Who gets out of bed for a cup of cold water.The classic Grinch heroine gets out of bed for water. She’s not more than 2. If you have a 2-year-old, you know this – do NOT give your child an excuse to get out of bed. Especially an excuse that involves drinking moments before 10 hours of no potty breaks. And so, when you read this part, read it quickly and without passion. Very, very soon the Grinch will stuff the tree up the chimbley. FOCUS ON THE CHIMBLEY.
2. I do NOT wish to go. Have you read Cat in the Hat lately? I was a huge fan as a kid. Even liked the sequel. But as a dad, when there’s some strange feline who shows up at the front door when their mother is out for the day (yeah, this could be another point but it was a different era and all) if their little fish friend (aka conscience) says go, then that cat better go. No more games. No Big Red Wood Box. Just go.
The author’s Cindy Lou Who, Riley, gets out of bed for cold water. And milk. And juice.
3. Horton had OCD. Horton is a really nice elephant. Reeeeallly nice. He picked through millions of thistles. Millllllions. Just saying.
4. That Once-ler has a foul mouth. In a span of two or three pages, the dirty old Once-ler man calls him stupid and tells him to shut up (but says please, not kidding). So, yeah, I have changed that to “silly” and “be quiet.”My daughter is 3. Maybe when she turns 4, I’ll stop censoring Seuss. Maybe.
5. The Foot Book.If ever you’re on a car trip and can’t read your daughter an actual story, let this book be your lesson. Make something up. He wrote an entire book about feet. And kids love it. Opposites+calluses=fascination.
6. Green food isn’t all bad. OK, so I’m still waiting for this book to really kick in with my daughter, but Green Eggs and Ham *may* have been influential in her tasting and liking broccoli. Well, just the dark green part of the floret. She won’t actually eat beyond the small buds. And she won’t really taste many foods yet without a lot of grumbling. So, maybe we should read this more?
7. Oh the Thinks You Can Think. But don’t overthink. This is probably one of his most underrated books. But it’s worth a read. And it prepares you for when your child starts making up their own stories with names like “Mafpurl” and animals like “Rawfrzns.” So give it a try. You can think up a GUFF going by.
In other words, I get it. I’m a dad now, and I have read my daughter Fox in Socks over, and over, and over again. And I loved it. These books, aside from the new angle parenthood has given me, have endured. Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss. We’re having cupcakes tonight in your honor.
The author, Jay Brown, is RIF’s new Director of Inte