I have to disagree about Hop on Pop--in part because I've alway thought of it as one of those books that set the Seuss style, rather than one that simply follows it. The opening that says, "Sad Bad Dad Had/Dad is Sad/Very very sad/He had a bad day/What a day dad had." is a moment of truly towering genius. The text is fine, but the combination of text and image is amazing, particularly as it occurs in the larger shape of the book; as a father it is the single most impressive moment in all of Seuss in my opinion. Also I'm a big fan of the "Mr. Black/Mr. Brown" sequence. The book as a whole is a little uneven, and the next-to-last few pages, the "In/Out" and so on bit has always seemd uninspired to me. But the "Father Mother Sister Brother" sequence is delightful.

My entry for bad Seuss is "I Am Not Going to Get up Today," which for some reason is in my children's book cases, and I've had to read. Totally lame and irritating.

JS

Hi, bro! You make a good point about "Father Mother Sister Brother", I like "This one is my other brother". I guess I was thinking mostly of the beginning of the book, which just seems sluggish to me.

"I am not Going to Get Up Today" is lame, agreed, except I remember hearing it read by somebody and the last line "Goodbye, I'm going out to play!" was nice. But that doesn't make up for the rest of the book.

I've always regarded Seuss's post-Wocket books as inferior and preachy, despite their seemingly more-robust plots. I think that one's opinions about the comparative quality of Seuss's books rests on whether you prefer his pre-reading age tomes (Hop on Pop, Many Colored Days, etc.), his early reader books (One Fish, Two Fish, Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham), his mid-Primary books (Lorax, Yertle the Turtle) or the books that would, in my opinion, best be characterized as aimed towards young adults who remember the Seuss books of their youth. This latter category I find to be the most formulaic and the least imaginative, syntactically.

The Seuss that I tend to favor are his more apocalyptic books. The mild terror of Bartholomew and the Oobleck, the environmental malaise of The Lorax, and the ornithological genocide of Scrambled Eggs Super all point to my favorite message of Seuss's: "You, Young Reader, are mortal, and everything you value and hold dear will be stripped from you unless you shape up and take action now."

(I'm kidding only a little bit with that last sentence.)

post-Wocket books

I have never until just yesterday had any real understanding of the ordering of Seuss' œuvre; but you have a strong case. I see the only post-Wocket books I recognize are Oh, the Thinks You Can Think -- objectively horrible -- I am NOT Going to Get Up Today -- discussed above -- and Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! -- which is kind of nice graphically but yeah, preachy.

(Uh, the second "Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!" s/b "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" Did somebody mention a Dr. Seuss "formula"?)

I love, love, love bartholomew and the oobleck. Especially the line he says toward the end: "You may be a mighty king. But you're sitting in Oobleck up to your chin. And so is everyone else in your land. And if you won't even say you're sorry, you're no sort of king at all!" Non-rhyming Seuss it's true, but the story rocks. I used it as the focal point a few years back of a vacation bible school based on Seuss's stories. As far as unloved books, I have to say Cat in the Hat. It does nothing for me. Though our copy is in both spanish and english and I like to read it to Isaiah in spanish to annoy him. Also, the dr seuss board books, a few of which we have gotten as presents - lame.

Hi Blythe! I think I like Bartholomew but it's such a long time now since I read it last. Mom wrote me earlier today to say she hated Cat in the Hat and dreaded having to read it. I'll take your and her word for it; that's another one Sylvia was never really into. (Though she did like The Return of the Cat in the Hat, which I found baffling.)

Speaking of baffling Seuss, have you guys seen his only movie, The 1,000 Fingers of Dr. Terwilliger? It is a weird one.

Ah, the Good Doctor...how well I remember a) reading and enjoying his early works as a child, and b) reading his books ad nauseum (for an adult) to my kids (you know who you are) as an adult.

I have to say that most of my favorites were written by 1955. Both the Marco books are favorite. I love the silly words in McElligot's Pool, the fantastic situations in Mulberry Street, and the general sense that adults have stifled their imagination much to their loss (of course, this is a theme through al lot of Seuss, q.v. If I Ran the Zoo, for inst.

Some of the early readers work well for me, they could stand up to endless re-readings that pre-K's require. The more overtly polemic works are sometimes a bit strained.

Oh, and I like Mr's McCrave Who Had 23 Sons and She Named Them All Dave (Too Many Daves)--that one always cracked me up.

Of the later books, Solla Sollew stands out in my memory.

Do Dr S's backgrounds remind anyone else of Coconino County in an off-kilter way, or is it just me?

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins has always been my favorite . Once long ago my old, lost friend Michael M and I were debating Seuss (his merits and demerits) and he mocked my love for this Seuss above all Seuss as pathetic evidence of a self-loathing narcissism --- "Actual near-decapitation! I can see that it would appeal to you" --- and a sad fear of my father.

500 Hats is the first book I can remember having been read to me, read by my grandmother who loved me more than life. Later, Oobleck felt like a cheat. There was nothing I hated more than a story with a moral.

I loved Seuss (Zeus?) for his anarchy salted with fear of authority and new food.