Dr. Seuss 44 Classic Book Celebratory Tour: Book Review

The Shape Of Me and Other Stuff Review

Reading Dr. Seuss books as an adult is an odd and totally refreshing experience-- a little like walking through the hallways of your elementary school as a senior in high school. So, full of nostalgia and longing. When I picked up Dr. Seuss, I remember snuggling close to my mom (or Grandma, who took me to the library most days as a child) and tracing the odd shapes and sounding out the odd words. I loved the rhymes--Dr. Seuss' books often sent me into rhyming fits afterwards.

Seventeen or so years later and I'm still the same. I wanted to rhyme everything after all. But Dr. Seuss books are deceptively easy. Rhyming into a story is super hard and the key to his genius is how easy it is and how fun it all is.

The Shape of Me and Other Stuff is one that I don't actually remember as a kid. I don't doubt that I would have remembered the fun silhouettes (especially of keys and animals). And I'm sure the idea of being another shape would have sent my imagination into a spiral. Five or six-year-old Brianna would have loved to imagine herself as a horse or elephant or Blogg (whatever that might be).

And I probably wouldn't have gotten the message of the book right away, but now the idea that little Brianna would been taught, in such a subtle way, that it was totally okay to be super tall or dorky looking is heartwarming.

I love the quirky creatures and real life messages that Dr. Seuss always managed to sneak into his books and I think we should always celebrate that. I'm so happy that another Dr. Seuss book was found and that, in my opinion, he can remain relevant. I think his books--whether about which pet a kid should get or how Horton heard a Who--are so important.

I'm so glad that I loved them as a kid and can continue to love him now.

~*~

Thank you so much to Penguin Random House for including me on the blog tour and for this opportunity. 

ABOUT WHAT PET SHOULD I GET

In the Fall of 2013, an original manuscript with accompanying sketches by Dr. Seuss, aka Ted Geisel, was discovered in the La Jolla, California home of the late beloved children’s author. That complete manuscript was for the picture book, WHAT PET SHOULD I GET?, and will be published by Random House Children’s Books on July 28, 2015. It is the first original new Dr. Seuss book since the publication of the last book of Dr. Seuss’s career, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! in 1990. WHAT PET SHOULD I GET? captures the excitement of a classic childhood moment—choosing a pet—and features the brother and sister characters that Dr. Seuss drew in One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.

Credit Courtesy of Dr. Seuss Enterprises 

ABOUT DR. SEUSS

Theodor “Seuss” Geisel is one of the most beloved children’s book authors of all time. His long list of awards includes Caldecott Honors for McElligot’s Pool, If I Ran the Zoo, and Bartholomew and the Oobleck, the Pulitzer Prize, and eight honorary doctorates. Works based on his original stories have won three Oscars, three Emmys, three Grammys and a Peabody. Geisel wrote and illustrated 45 books during his lifetime, and his books have sold more than 650 million copies worldwide. Though Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading. For more information about Dr. Seuss and his works, visit Seussville.com.

Celebratory Blog Tour:

1.       And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, 1937 – The Young Folks.com

2.       The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, 1938 – Bookish Antics

3.       The Seven Lady Godivas, 1939 – The Eater of Books

4.       The King’s Stilts, 1939 – On Starships and Dragonwings

5.       Horton Hatches the Egg, 1940 – The Book Cellar

6.       McElligot’s Pool, 1947 – Media Mikes

7.       Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, 1948 –Mommie of 2

8.       Bartholomew and the Oobleck, 1949 – Nonperfect Parenting

9.       If I Ran the Zoo, 1950 – Live to Read

10.   Scrambled Eggs Super! 1953 – Word Spelunking

11.   Horton Hears a Who! 1954 - Bookiemoji

12.   On Beyond Zebra! 1955 - Jessabella Reads

13.   If I Ran the Circus, 1956 – Book Hounds

14.   The Cat in the Hat, 1957 – The Bookbag

15.   How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 1957 – Nightly Reading

16.   The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, 1958 – Winter Haven Books

17.   Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, 1958 – Alice Marvels

18.   Happy Birthday to You! 1959 – Chapter by Chapter

19.   Green Eggs and Ham, 1960 – Poland Bananas

20.   One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, 1960 – Once Upon a Twilight

21.   The Sneetches and Other Stories, 1961 - The Mod Podge Bookshelf

22.   Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book, 1962 – Good Books and Good Wine

23.   Dr. Seuss’s ABC, 1963 – The Irish Banana

24.   Hop on Pop, 1963 – Mundie Moms

25.   Fox in Socks, 1965 – Page Turners

26.   I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew, 1965 – Book Rock Betty

27.   The Cat in the Hat Songbook, 1967 – Giveaway Train

28.   The Foot Book, 1968 – I Am A Reader

29.   I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! And Other Stories, 1969 – Cuddlebuggery

30.   I Can Draw It Myself, 1970 – The Children’s Book Review

31.   Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? 1970 – Curling Up with a Good Book

32.   The Lorax, 1971 - Elizziebooks

33.   Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! 1972 – Reading with ABC

34.   Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? 1973 – Me, Myshelf, and I

35.   The Shape of Me and Other Stuff, 1973 – Paperback Princess

36.   There’s a Wocket in My Pocket! 1974 – Presenting Lenore

37.   Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! 1975 – YA Books Central

38.   The Cat’s Quizzer, 1976 – Lille Punkin’

39.   I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! 1978 – Confessions Of A Vi3tbabe

40.   Oh Say Can You Say? 1979 – Ex Libris

41.   Hunches in Bunches, 1982 – No BS Book Reviews

42.   The Butter Battle Book, 1984 – Novel Novice

43.   You’re Only Old Once! 1986 – Dad of Divas

44.   Oh, the Places You’ll Go! 1990  - Jesse the Reader