My Dr. Seuss Top 10

Sure great children's, books are added to quality books every year, but no other author has consistantly stayed at the top, encouraging kids to read and have fun doing it, with a sneaky bit of learning thrown in, and parents can enjoy (and even learn from) as well.

I was lucky to have grown up in his heyday. Even when I was an adult, he was still writing books. From someone who was told he couldn't draw, came some of the most memorable imaginative books. Wouldn't it have been interesting eavesdropping on him in his office or car as he was playing with word combinations and fitting them into his rhythm?

No one since Seuss has been ... Seuss-like. No children's writer has filled his niche. His life and books were a wonderful thing. I see that some of the most influential, "magical" (for lack of a better word) have not been famous politicians or leaders, but simply creative people like Dr. Seuss.

I have noticed over the years that, while many of the children's early reading books are easily available in bookstores (which I listed under, "Consistant Best Sellers), some of the older classics have become hard to find. It would be a shame for kids to lose the chance to read these books.

My "Top Ten" List consists of what I feel are the absolute best, based on their "unforgetable" quality, their moral, and how fun it reads.

Photo: 1957- Theodor Seuss Geisel sketching out ideas to illustrate his book, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". - WikiCommons. All other pictures are with permission from AllPosters.

For me, these books have passed the test of time - the childhood books you remember fondly the rest of your life. The books you want to buy for your own child so you can once more have a reason to read aloud these fun verses. Further down this lens, I included what booksellers list as the official "Top Ten" Dr. Seuss books based on their sales. Bah! My "Top Ten" list includes his best story-telling books - the books that may have slipped through the cracks over the years, but should be dusted off from their boxes in Grandma's attic.

I hope you enjoy reading over these as much as I enjoyed making it.

When I made my Top 10 List, I was keeping in mind Dr. Seuss' most engaging children's books. Just because we've grown up, doesn't mean we no longer find meaning in or stop liking Dr. Seuss books.

Hands down, the winner was "Oh, The Places You'll Go!", probably because by this time in our lives most of us have traveled up, up, up and down, down, dowwnnnn some of those roads and twisted paths, and can relate to some of life's truths better than someone just starting out.

"I'm afraid that some times

you'll play lonely games too.

Games you can't win

'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!

Whether you like it or not,

Alone will be something

you'll be quite a lot."

................................................

"So be sure when you step.

Step with care and great tact

and remember that Life's

a Great Balancing Act.

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.

And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)"

Thanks for all your feedback!

Somewhere in our childhood, you probably discovered the weird and wonderful world of Dr. Seuss. Whether it was read to you, or from the school or public library, or on TV, Dr. Seuss has prpbably been a familiar figure during your lifetime.

Most of us read to our kids long before they are able to read for themselves, and these might be a few of the beginner books you picked. When your child is just learning to read, "Hop on Pop" or "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" are great choices for simple word recognition. But these books are still as much fun for the parent to read, even when your child is starting to read for themselves.

• "Green Eggs and Ham",

• "The Cat in the Hat"

• "Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?"

• "Oh the Thinks You Can Think!"

• "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut"

These books are still for beginners, guaranteed to tickle the imagination of young and old alike.

• And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street

• McElligot's Pool

• On Beyond Zebra!

• There's a Wocket in My Pocket

• I Wish That I Had Duck Feet

• If I Ran the Zoo

• If I Ran the Circus

• Scrambled Eggs Super

Lessons For Kids And Grown-Ups

Generations have grown up with these classics from the Master himself, Dr. Seuss. Still fun to read even as adults - outloud to kids or *ahem* just browsing through the pages - there are solid lessons snuck in every captivating story.

• Horton Hatches the Egg

• Horton Hears A Who!

• I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew

• The Lorax

• The King's Stilts

• The Sneetches and Other Stories

• Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose

• Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories

• Bartholomew and the Oobleck

• Oh, The Places You'll Go!

• The Sneetches and Other Stories

• Daisy-Head Mayzie

• The Butter Battle Book

After checking over four of the top bookselling lists around the United States, I found the following were either in all four or three out of four of the lists.

• Dr. Seuss's A B C's

• The Cat in the Hat

• Green Eggs and Ham

• Oh the Places You'll Go!

• Hop on Pop

• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

• The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

• Cat in the Hat Comes Back

• Horton Hears a Who

• The Sneetch's and Other Stories

• Fox in Sox

• Book About Me