Ask a group of fiveyear- olds why they like Dr. Seuss and they will undoubtedly tell you “because he is funny.” Ask teachers the same question and they will probably give the same answer, but also add that the language he uses helps children learn to read. For Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss), these responses represent a job well done.
In the 1950s, a national magazine printed an article saying that the books being used to teach kids to read were too boring. Some publishers gave Geisel a challenge: Create an enjoyable book using only 220 newreader vocabulary words. The result: The Cat in the Hat. (He went on to selfimpose a limit of 50 words for Green Eggs and Ham.)
Other popular Seuss offerings include And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Horton Hears a Who.
Author and illustrator H. A. Rey may not be as big of a household name as Dr. Seuss, but his books about Curious George have been delighting c h i l d ren for more than 60 years. The mischievous monkey and his friend, The Man with the Yellow Hat, enjoyed a particular resurgence in 2006 with a feature-length film and a daily show on public television, leading bookstore shelves to be stocked with the original titles as well as beautifully bound collections.
“There are many good publications that feature characters children already know from television and videos,” says Paulette Braccio, an elementary school teacher for more than 30 years. So while your grandkids may know Thomas the Tank Engine from what they have seen on screen, they may not realize that the phenomenon actually began back in 1945 with the Rev. W. Awdry’s book The Three Railway Engines. (This book, incidentally, was about the trains named Edward, Gordon, and Henry. Thomas made his debut the following year in the second book of the railway series.)
The film connection
Movies of classic children’s literature can lead to special shared experiences. Frank George, a father from Arlington, Va., recalls how seeing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with his son rekindled his interest in C. S. Lewis. “After seeing the film, my son begged me to read him the book. He loved all the details in the novel, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed revisiting the book. We went on to buy the whole Narnia series.”
What children like and what adults would pick for children to read are often surprisingly similar. For instance, a survey by the National Education Association resulted in teachers picking E. B. White’s 1952 classic Charlotte’sWeb as their number one children’s book. Children placed it at number six.
White’s other two wellknown children’s books, Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, also made the top 100 on both lists. Some other books on both lists that have been enjoyed by multiple generations include The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, and the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Sharing a treasured story
Regardless of the title you select, the simple act of giving your grandchild a book that played a role in your own life is bound to be memorable. It is often hard for children to imagine that their own parents and grandparents were once their age. Experiencing a book that an adult who is important in their life once enjoyed can give them a new perspective.
And with any luck, they will want to share their newfound literary treasure with their own children someday.
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