Green Eggs and Ham

Green Eggs and Ham   Theodore Seuss Geisel

Beginner Books Inc.  1992.  New York. 62 pp. ISBN: 0-394-80016-8

Target Audience-K-2

Summary-The main character, who has no name, meets Sam-I-Am, who tries to convince him to try green eggs and ham.  Sam continues to pester the Other character and offers many different options for trying the new foods, but the Other character will have none of it.   The end of the book finds the Main character giving in if only to get Sam off his back and realizes he does, indeed, like green eggs and ham and learns the “don’t knock it ‘till you try it” lesson.

Characters-Sam-I-Am, the Main Character, assorted Seuss characters

How does this book appeal to younger readers? The large pictures and rhyming verse make this book very appealing for young readers.  The colors are basic and limited, only red, green, yellow and black are used.  The illustrations are typical Seuss: simple and silly at the same time.  In this book there are no made up creatures, but the familiar objects are drawn with Seuss flair.   The book appeals to young readers because the entire text consists of only 50 words and these are used repeatedly.  The repetition lets new readers master a few words and begin to recognize them as the words are presented over and over.   The theme of not wanting to try new things is also appealing to young people.

Is there staying power for this book? Yes, because it’s Suess.  The reasons stated above also add to the staying power.  Having said that however, the book, even in newer printings, does seem dated in its illustrations, use of color and the type of paper used, most especially in the older editions.  There are no indications of a period of time, but the style is definitely older.  Because of the rhyming scheme and the silliness of the pictures, I don’t think any of this will matter to children.

What recommendations will you make for classroom use/library use of this book? This book can be used with a K-2 audience. The repetition and rhyme make it a wonderful beginning book for a new reader, alone or in a group situation.  This book could be used in a choral reading situation or a call and response type of reading.  The children could also say the Main character’s response to Sam as a group after the teacher, other student, or half the class reads Sam’s part.  Puppets could be made to perform the scenes as new characters are added, or the whole thing could be presented on a flannelboard.

I would recommend this book.