
Happy birthday to the one and only Theodor Seuss "Ted" Geisel, the good doctor, the wordsmith of our childhoods!
As a father I've had the opportunity to revisit some titles that I may have forgotten about over the years. Among them is Dr. Seuss at his finest and (in my opinion) most diabolical: "Fox in Socks."
Why diabolical? When was the last time you read "Fox in Socks?" Have you read it out loud lately? Do me a favor, go grab it and open it up.
Say the following aloud and tell me you are not laughing:
"When beetles battle beetles in a puddle paddle battle and the beetle battle puddle is a puddle in a bottle...
...they call this a tweetle beetle bottle puddle paddle battle muddle.
AND ... When beetles fight these battles in a bottle with their paddles and the bottle's on a poodle and the poodle's eating noodles...
... they call this a muddle puddle tweetle poodle beetle noodle bottle paddle battle."

My daughter and I have spent many evenings trying to get through those pages with varying degrees of speed and expertise ... and never have we laughed so hard and as often with a book open.
Reading aloud with your kiddos is so wildly important to their development—not just academically, but imaginationally (yup)—and this is a great opportunity to share a funny moment together. She'll see you as a hero, flawed and stumbling through the prose, assuring her that with enough practice she can conquer anything ... EVEN the tweetle beetle puddle paddle battle.
Then, you can proudly declare that you speak fluent Seuss, the founder of the original "Ted" Talk.
Comments