Wednesday 30 April 2014

Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz!!! Dr. Seuss's ABC

Author                                     : Dr Seuss
Illustrated by                              : Dr Seuss
Age range recommended         : 3 to 7 years (though we think  you can start even earlier!)
Theme                                      : Introduction to alphabets, imaginary characters and words



Opening lines –
Big A. Little a. What begins with A? 

Introduction and Synopsis –
This is quite simply an alphabet book, but with a difference. If you are familiar with Dr. Seuss’ books, you’d know what we are hinting at. He introduces the letters of the alphabet with his wacky, preposterous way of writing. The book is full of crazy alliteration, repetition and rhymes which tiny tots will find delightful. The book introduces both upper case and lower case letters and also introduces words in a basic phonics format. Dr. Seuss’s inimitable creative use of language is the high point, a feature consistent in all his books (really, we are yet to find another author who writes like this).


Why did my caterpillar and I like this book? 
Unlike my regular posts, I'm giving a joint review for this book between my baby and me- simply because we think similary on this book and love it just as much!

So, correction - We loved this book. And we can illustrate why with some pictures.




You see? Only Dr Seuss can get away with lines like Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz (my little A is in love with the word!) and inventions like duck-dog (there’s even a picture of a duck-dog!). Some might find this a little outlandish, especially if you are new to Dr. Seuss’s writings, but take my word for it – kids will love it. We think it is because although the words are completely made up, they make the reading fluid and interesting at the same time. There is a lot of imagination used, with lines made up (David Donald Doo dreamed a dozen doughnuts and a duck-dog, too) and even characters (four fluffy feathers on a Fiffer –feffer-feff). Each page has a dominant background colour and so the illustrations are fun to watch and details, hard to miss.

The winning feature of this book, in our opinion, is truly in its absolute nonsense – I cannot think of something more ridiculous than ‘Oscar’s only ostrich oiled an orange owl today’!!! And there is actually a picture for the child to connect it to! In fact, every such statement is supported by a picture depicting the phrases on the same page. It is truly delightful.

Online link -
We found this online link which we frequently watch and enjoy.


The cocoon rates it -

5/5

We cannot really think of any flip side to the book, except that the very points mentioned above that make this book such a must-have will not appeal to everybody (read grown-ups). There is no way a child of 2 or 3 is going to reject this book. We totally recommend.

2 comments:

  1. Lovely and Zanny Z on the book. Congrats for completing the challenge champion.
    Cheerz

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  2. I don't know any adults who don't recognize the genius of Dr. Seuss. But I'm sure there are some out there who don't appreciate...for me these books were so central to my upbringing that I can't wait to share them with my 1 year old niece in a few months when she stops trying to rip books out of my hands! :)

    Michelle @ In Media Res

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