# Dr Seuss - favourites and lost treasures **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 17, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064 "2005-09-17T00:05:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/21 "2005-09-17T14:36:47Z")
Nobody _ever_ says **Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now** , but it was my absolute favorite book for ages when I was a kid. I made my poor father read it to me over and over and over and over again. And now I hear people think it’s about Nixon, wtf? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/22 "2005-09-17T15:19:53Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > … and the _Green Pants With Nobody Inside Them_, which, I must say, is the absolute creepiest story Dr. Seuss ever wrote. That was actually titled _What Was I Scared Of?_ – and yes, it was creepy. ---
**Author:** ![NoPretentiousCodename](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/82dd89/32.png) [@NoPretentiousCodename](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoPretentiousCodename)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/23 "2005-09-17T15:52:53Z")
I was always interested in his [Political Cartoons](http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/)… ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/24 "2005-09-17T16:44:16Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Nobody _ever_ says **Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now** …And now I hear people think it’s about Nixon, wtf? It may not have been about Nixon per se, but it was published around the time of Watergate. Art Buchwald received permission from Dr. Seuss to reprint the entire text of the book in his column, replacing every instance of “Marvin K. Mooney” with “Richard M. Nixon.” My hidden Seuss treasure is one of only two books Seuss wrote for adults (_You’re Only Old Once_ is the other), and one of the few that was allowed to go out of print. Since Dr. Seuss would have been 100 in 2003, I decided to read with my grandmother every book he had written under the pen name “Dr. Seuss.” We never got farther than _The King’s Stilts_ (so I’m lazy), but that was enough to include **The Seven Lady Godvias**. This is a very silly book, written in prose. According to Dr. Seuss, what we know about the Lady Godiva legend is wrong- there was not one of them, but seven. They always appeared in public without clothes. And Peeping Tom did not get his name because he looked at one of the seven Godivas- his surname was actually Peeping. Each of the Godivas is in love with one of the Peeping brothers, but after their father is killed in an accident while on horseback, they realize that there is a lot to be learned about the horse. They vow that they will not marry their respective love until they have each learned some truth about horses. These come in the form of common cliches. For example, one of the Godivas attempts to get her horse to drink from a fountain she has ridden to. The horse thinks to himself, “I’d rather die before I drank from that fountain.” So he does. Thus, we learn you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. It’s a rather silly book, but it is quite amusing. (The names of the Peeping brothers start out normal- Peeping Tom, Peeping Bill and such, but in typical Seuss style, the final brother is named Peeping Frelyingheusen. Since there is a local politician whose last name is Frelyingheusen, this amuses me to no end.) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/25 "2005-09-17T17:47:55Z")
> [@NoPretentiousCodename](#): > > I was always interested in his [Political Cartoons](http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/)… Great link, **NPC**! I’d never seen those. I did notice a hole in the Herr Doktor’s c.v. there, though, in between Dartmouth and _Mulberry Street._ In the early 1930s he was doing some very fine pages, panels and such for a foundering humor magazine called _Life_ (yes, they sold the name a little later). The stuff wanders around freely between the cute (mainly the drawing) and the absurd (much of the writing). This period of Seuss was anthologized many years ago in a very enjoyable book called [The Tough Coughs as He Ploughs the Dough](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/5551814378/102-3869398-2112152). I’m happy to announce that there are currently 3 used copies listed on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/26 "2005-09-17T20:07:43Z")
My favorite has always been _I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew_. There’s been more than one otherwise-excellent piece of software with one towering bug or problem in it that has been labeled its “key-slapping slippard”! Hmm, oddly I don’t see _Solla Sollew_ in **Max the Vool** ’s biblio list. Definitely his, though, and definitely published as a stand-alone book. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/27 "2005-09-17T20:41:15Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > This period of Seuss was anthologized many years ago in a very enjoyable book called [The Tough Coughs as He Ploughs the Dough](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/5551814378/102-3869398-2112152). I’m happy to announce that there are currently 3 used copies listed on [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com). Another good book featuring many good Seuss rarities is _The Seuss, The Whole Seuss, and Nothing But the Seuss_, which is sort of a visual biography which mainly highlights the Doctor’s lesser-known works. Also, I wish you would stop swearing in Rumanian. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/28 "2005-09-17T20:55:17Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > I read to my kids from the old hardback Yertle I had as a kid. I think poor Mack (the voice of the turtle proletariat) is too lefty for today’s tastes.[/SIZE] Yertle the Turtle is supposed to be Adolf Hitler. Although Hitler’s downfall was not actually caused by someone within his own power group (directly), there were some Nazis who attempted to take him down. I’m guessing the story of _Yertle the Turtle_ is meant to show that even the most powerful tyrant can be taken down by the smallest of people. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/29 "2005-09-17T21:13:45Z")
I always loved **Scrambled Eggs Super** and **And To Think That I saw it on Mulberry Street** - the latter because we had mulberry trees in our yard and I thought it was the neatest thing ever. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/30 "2005-09-17T22:06:12Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > “Fox in Sox” was a close second. Oh, goody. Then _you_ come read it to my daughter tonight, 'K? I thought I was going to cry trying to get through that last night. Of course, fact is that I had already read 2 of the really long original **Curious George** stories, and at that point I think she was just fucking with me. I’ll chime in with _The Sneetches_. I know a couple who have a sun, and last year for Halloween, the three of them went as Sneetches. 1 had a star and 2 did not, IIRC. I do also like _Ten Apples Up on Top_, and _Hop on Pop_. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/31 "2005-09-17T22:50:30Z")
> [@The Eye Book](#): > > Our eyes see many things. Like rain! And pie! Wiser words were never spoken. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/32 "2005-09-18T00:22:01Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > I know a couple who have a sun, He must be really bright. What’s his name, Sol? ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/33 "2005-09-18T00:46:40Z")
My all-time favorite is **Fox in Sox**. I have a copy of it on my shelf I bought as an adult (just for me). Just for fun, I memorized the entire tweetle beetle battle. I was a hit at parties with that one I tell ya. As a kid, I also enjoyed the \*\*ABC Book \*\* (except I had to skip “G.” Goo-goo Goggles scared me). **One Fish, Two Fish** … was good. But one that I remember reading when I was about 6 or so was **Bartholomew and the Ooobleck**. I loved that one! A lot of people remember that kid with the hats, but when I mention the oobleck people look at me like I was nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/34 "2005-09-18T02:06:57Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > Also, I wish you would stop swearing in Rumanian. Oh, McWUPPAAA. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/35 "2005-09-18T02:49:14Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > But one that I remember reading when I was about 6 or so was **Bartholomew and the Ooobleck**. I loved that one! Me too. Loved the “mystic men who eat boiled owls.” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/36 "2005-09-18T16:49:09Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > But one that I remember reading when I was about 6 or so was **Bartholomew and the Ooobleck**. I loved that one! A lot of people remember that kid with the hats, but when I mention the oobleck people look at me like I was nuts. Although the ending was a cop-out:The Ooobleck goes away because the King is **really, really** sorry? That’s not how things worked when I was a kid ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/37 "2005-09-18T16:50:38Z")
> [@Rufus Xavier](#): > > He must be really bright. > > What’s his name, Sol? :o Ooops. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064/38 "2005-09-18T20:17:43Z")
Oh…so many. We owned “Hop on Pop,” from which I learned words such as “Constantinople and Timbuktu.” Only years later did I figure out that they were REAL words, and what they meant. But I was the only kid in my kindergarten class that knew them. Needless to say, it was our father’s LEAST favorite book (I don’t know how his abs withstood the abuse). The story “What was I Scared Of” (the green pants story) freaked the crap out of me as a young’n. But I have to go with “On Beyond Zebra” as my all-time favorite. I read it in first grade, and it positively blew my mind. Up until that point, the focus had been on my learning my ABC’s: that is, the 26 letters of the English alphabet. Up until getting my hands on a copy of OBZ, I had thought that the 26 letters were _all there was_. This book totally changed my brain when I was six. Not only did it plant the idea that there could be more letters than I was being taught in school, but that led me to the discovery that there ARE. Thirty-five years later, I still find myself being fascinated with (and collecting) alphabets, scripts, and writing systems from all over the world. In fact, I originally bought the Lord of the Rings trilogy because of the appendices in the back with the dwarvish runes and the elvish tengwar. (I did eventually read them, too.) Writing systems fascinate me, and it all started with that book. Dr. Seuss totally rocks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-seuss-favourites-and-lost-treasures/322064.md?page=1)