Reading Dr Seuss

There are so many reasons for reading Dr Seuss books!  Do be aware, however, of the various types of Dr Seuss books and how they can best impact according to the age and development of a child.

Toddlers usually have very short attention spans.  Therefore, some Dr Seuss books may be too long for them to sit through and keep their attention.  However, the shorter books with their rhyming text and repetitive phrases will spark their listening skills and also provide a few giggles!

Preschoolers and young readers will benefit from reading Dr Seuss books which contain simple, sight word vocabulary as well as longer stories which impart lessons and further thinking skills.

Children may outgrow some of the silly, nonsense shorter Dr Seuss books such as Hop on Pop, Ten Apples on Top, etc. in that these may seem monotonous and boring without a real story line.  

Therefore again, it is important to know which books are best for which ages when reading Dr Seuss.

Reading Dr Seuss - Rhyming & Rhythm

Science has shown us that both the rhythm of reading and the sound of your voice impacts a child's brain development as well as laying neural pathway foundations for reading.  

Also as children become aware of rhyming sounds, it boosts brain activity and prepares them for early literacy skills while the repetitiveness of text is like waving a flag to a young child  saying they've heard this before...listen carefully.

Who knew Dr. Seuss was so far ahead of his time?!

Both toddlers and preschoolers will enjoy and benefit from all three of these through reading Dr Seuss books. 

Here are a few ways for you to "harness" this with your own kids:

Finish the Rhyme

When reading Dr Seuss to toddlers, it is important to notice the ratio between the illustrations and text.  Young children are much more visual than auditory.  The bright colorful illustrations will hold their attention while their little ears tune into the short rhyming text.

• After a few readings, allow your toddler to finish the rhyme as you read.  For instance:

  "The sun did not shine.  It was too wet to play.  So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet _______.

Rhythm - Change the Pace

When reading Dr Seuss books, change the pace as you read aloud to your child.  Begin with a normal rhythm flow, then have fun rereading faster and then slower.  

This will help a child become familiar with a natural rhythm of reading, but also help them understand not everyone may read at the same pace.  Each of us is different, and that is okay!

Repetition

Repetition is key to learning listening skills.  In turn, this is a building block of the beginning of both comprehension and growing vocabulary.

You don't have to read a Dr Seuss book over and over to achieve this either.  He has included plenty of repetition within his writing.  As adults, this may seem a bit redundant, but for kids it is essential.

For instance, Hop on Pop, repeats words by themselves and then in a sentence.  I don't even enjoy reading this book!  However, I know that when reading it to a child, it has so many benefits.

The repetition is teaching vocabulary, phonics with word families, and even correct sentence structure as words are placed within a simple sentence format.

Other Dr Seuss books such as Green Eggs and Ham repeat phrases.  

• Read a page aloud; then let your little one repeat as you point to the words.  This helps them match sounds to written text, increase vocabulary, and boost their learning confidence.
• With repeated phrases, allow them to finish the sentences as they catch on.
• Repetition is also key for memory.  See how many things your child can remember after reading the book such as where Sam-I-Am offered to serve the green eggs and ham.  How many can you list together?  Again, this helps a child learn to pay attention to the text being read for comprehension and understanding of what's being read.

Preschool Basics

Reading Dr Seuss books can also introduce basic knowledge in a fun way!  From parts of the body like The Foot Book and The Eye Book to numbers and counting, shapes, colors, and so much more!

In addition to these specifics, you can also incorporate learning discovery and observations while reading Dr Seuss books.

Have your toddler or preschooler:

• Point out or name colors in the illustrations.
• Find and name objects in illustrations such as  - "Do you see the bird?" or "Can you find the comb?" or "Can you name what this is?"

A few Dr. Seuss books which are ideal for toddlers and preschoolers include:

Beginning Reading Skills 
Reading Dr Seuss

Theodore Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss had a passion for helping children learn to read.  He didn't want them to have to learn important sight word and phonics skills through boring stories.  Therefore, he wrote fun and silly tales infused with real words and made up words for practice.  He also drew fantastical creatures using bright colors to capture a child's attention with his book illustrations.

If your child is learning to read, try reading Dr Seuss books with your child created just for that!

Sight Words

Sight Words - Look for these sight words focusing only on one or two for a child to recognize at first and then adding more as you go. Write a word or two on an index card or post-it note for them to watch for.

1. Begin with "a" and "I."  Your child already knows these as letters; show them how these are also words all by themselves. 
2. Next gradually add other two letter sight words such as in, it, to, do, etc. 
3. Include other short pronouns - he, we, she, us, you.
4. Try adding the, and & said - these three words are probably some of our most used words in reading anything! 
5. From there,  use our sight word list and continue adding words used over and over in the Cat in the Hat.

Phonics

Phonics is just as important to practice, and Dr Seuss Beginner  books incorporate a perfect way to use these word families in context.

•  Play a game of having your child look for "at" - cat, hat, sat, mat, etc.  Then show them how these make a word family because they all end with "at" making them look alike and sound alike (rhyme).

Practice 

Once a child has begun reading, it is important to then practice, practice, practice!

Let's face it, no one learns to play the piano or play baseball or any other skill over night.  It takes continual learning, mastering and practicing those skills as you progress to hone your skill.

It is also important to experience success along the way.  This is where reading Dr Seuss books becomes "stellar!"  Most of the words Dr Seuss used in The Cat in the Hat came straight from the Dolch sight word list.

Not only that, but most of the other words included in these Dr Seuss books for beginning readers include other most commonly used words.

Other books which include great practice for sight words include:

1. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish is full of number and color sight words along with so many more!

Reading Dr Seuss & Beyond the Read

By now you have already discovered that reading Dr. Seuss books goes far beyond the read.  Most of his books incorporate lessons of life and discovery.  Here are just a few:

• Everyone is special no matter how small or otherwise. (Horton Hears a Who)
• Envy of others will get you nowhere! (The Sneetches) 
• How to face your fears. (What Was I Scared of?)
• Pride comes before the fall. (Yertle the Turtle)
• Stubbornness can get you stuck in your tracks. (The Zax)

Reading Dr Seuss books offer so many benefits to all ages - toddlers on up to adults.  How many of his books have you read?  There are over 60!

Here is a list of Dr Seuss books grouped by age of enjoyment.

Welcome!  I'm Susan - Mom to four grown children & Suzie to our grandchildren.  I love books and truly believe they can shape lives!