ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Seuss, Sneetches, and My Story

Updated on November 26, 2014

Can You Teach a Sneetch?

Source

Doctor Seuss's Story

Although perhaps not as memorable as Green Eggs and Ham or as famous as the Cat in the Hat, The Sneetches story will forever hold a special place in my heart.

The Sneetches is also a wonderful fable, but more about that later.

This book carries a marvelous personal memory about a sweet second grade teacher that gave me a chance. Her name was Mrs. Channing.

Mrs. Channing told our class that if we could read a picture book, we could go to the first grade to read it to them - a big honor.

I came back a day or so later with my copy of the Sneetches book and I proceeded to show her how I could read it.

But you see, I actually COULDN'T read it. I had memorized the entire story and could turn the pages in the correct places only because of the picture cues.

She thought something was strange when I replaced one word for another. After quizzing me, I told her we had the record at home and I would read along with the recording and my book. The recording had a word or two different.

In my young mind, I was reading it.

What did this teacher do? Did she tell me I wasn't really reading it and to take the book home?

No, she gave me a time slot and day to read the book. I wore a nice dress that day and got to read and show the pictures to one of the first grade classes. I was so excited and proud.

I'm sure this experience contributed towards me becoming a lifelong, avid reader.

A Dr. Seuss Gem

The Sneetches and Other Stories
The Sneetches and Other Stories
Amazon has a ready supply of Doctor Seuss books.
 

My Interpretation of This Story

The lesson in the story about the plain-bellied and star-bellied Sneetches is that it's not what's on the outside, but what's in the inside that counts. The issues of prejudice and the arrogant desire to be seen as 'better' than others are addressed.

Sneetches look exactly alike except for the star. It's obvious to the reader how silly they are for believing that small differences in outward appearance make someone 'better.'

Dr. Seuss in his usual poetic way, tells the story without becoming preachy or bogged down. He has a funny character Sylvester McMonkey McBean that takes advantage of the Sneetches strive to climb up the social ladder by offering the services of his star-on star-off machine. For a fee of course.

Other stories include The Zax, Too Many Daves, and What Was I Scared Of?

Musical Versions of Dr. Seuss Stories

Dr. Seuss Presents Fox In Sox, Horton Hatches The Egg & Other Stories
Dr. Seuss Presents Fox In Sox, Horton Hatches The Egg & Other Stories
This CD includes the Sneetches Story that I listened to in second grade. Of COURSE I have it now!
 
Dr. Seuss Presents Green Eggs & Ham, Yertle The Turtle & Other Stories
Dr. Seuss Presents Green Eggs & Ham, Yertle The Turtle & Other Stories
The beatnik version of Green Eggs and Ham was a hit in my classroom during Doctor Seuss's birthday celebration. This series was originally made in the early 60's and is a real treat with great voices acting out the characters!
 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)