Coming Soon: A New Dr. Seuss Book!

March 2 is always a special day in early childhood education. This year it was the 111th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss is the beloved author of such childhood classic books as Hop on Pop, The Cat in the Hat, and One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish. 

Many schools honor Dr. Seuss with in a variety of ways, from participating in Read Across America Day to serving green eggs and ham to cutting out paper apples to make a Ten Apples Up On Top picture.

This year, Dr. Seuss has sent us a birthday present! It has been announced that a newly discovered children’s book, authored by Dr. Seuss himself, will be published by Random House. It will be available in bookstores and libraries in July 2015. The book is called What Pet Should I Get? We can thank Dr. Seuss’ widow, Audrey Geisel, for rediscovering some of her husband’s old manuscripts in 2013. The manuscripts contained full text and illustrations. This will be the first Dr. Seuss book published in 25 years, since Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Here are five fun ways to use Dr. Seuss reading ideas:

• Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear sounds in spoken language, and a key element for reading success. Dr. Seuss’ use of rhymes, including nonsense rhymes, supports and encourages phonemic awareness. Dr. Seuss’ books help pre- and beginning readers connect the sounds with their corresponding letters.
• The books are very good for teaching life lessons in a fun and easy-to-understand way for young children. Horton Hears a Who teaches about equality. The Lorax is about protecting the Earth and how we are all responsible.
• One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish is a great book to practice math. Use small fish-shaped crackers to act out the story or make a fish graph. Another example is Ten Apples Up on Top.
• My Book About Me creates a personal nonfiction story by encouraging a child to explore and record things unique to her own self and life.
• Oh, the Thinks You Can Think and The Cat in the Hat are great tools to help a young child explore the endless possibilities and wonders of imagination.

Dr. Seuss books educate while entertaining young students. They spark a curiosity about books that engage even reluctant readers. As a parent, grandparent, and 1st grade teacher, I am a big fan of Dr. Seuss and eagerly await the release of What Pet Should I Get?