I Can Read With My Eyes Shut by Dr Seuss
| I Can Read With My Eyes Shut by Dr Seuss | |
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| Category: Emerging Readers | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: Much more silly and fun for emerging readers than some of the usual reading scheme fodder! | |
| Buy? yes | Borrow? yes |
| Pages: 48 | Date: September 2017 |
| Publisher: HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9780008240011 | |
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The more that you read,
The more things you will know.
The more that you learn,
The more places you'll go.
This is a classic Dr Seuss quote from this book, and one that I painstakingly stickered onto the wall of my children's school library! The book is very silly, as Dr Seuss always is, but is also a good rhyming ode to the joys of reading.
In this book, the Cat in the Hat is giving advice to a little Cat in a Hat about reading. Although he claims he can read with his eyes shut, he says that it's bad for his hat, and it makes his eyebrows red hot! He goes on to explain why actually it's important to read with your eyes open, as that makes you a speedier reader, and also you get to learn about all sorts of new things. The things you learn about vary from being quite normal (trees and bees) to being, of course, very silly (knees on trees and owls on noses!) It has the usual busy illustrations that are instantly recognisable in style, as well as silly rhymes and made up creatures such as Foo-Foo the Snoo!
It's colourful throughout, and the cats are wonderfully expressive. I like the zany directions that the book takes, jumping from one thing to another, with fabulous illustrations accompanying silly text such as
You can read about anchors.
And all about ants.
You can read about ankles!
And crocodile pants!
I'm a particular fan of one illustration which shows a doughnut machine. It has a simple on/off switch, and I was left with the feeling that I could quite do with one of these machines in my life!
Dr Seuss books work well for sharing with younger readers, but I think they really come into their own for those children emerging as readers themselves. My five year old was immensely proud of himself the first time he read Green Eggs and Ham on his own. This particular book is slightly harder, so perhaps better for those around six and seven years old, but it still has all the classic rhyme, repetition and rhythm that make the books a little easier to read, and fun too. I still feel that Green Eggs and Ham is my favourite to read aloud, as it's absolutely joyous in it's repetition and increasing silliness, but this is also a quick and fun read, and I definitely prefer to The Cat in the Hat which always makes me feel rather uncomfortable about how much naughtiness is going on whilst the mum is out! A good early reader for those growing in confidence with their reading and who want something a little more lively than a typical reading scheme book!
Further reading suggestion: There are lots of other Dr Seuss stories to enjoy. You might like to try Oh, the Places You'll Go or Horton Hears a Who.
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You can read more book reviews or buy I Can Read With My Eyes Shut by Dr Seuss at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy I Can Read With My Eyes Shut by Dr Seuss at Amazon.com.
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