I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Bartholomew and the Oobleck
by
Dr. Seuss
It is part of the Bartholomew Cubbins series and is a fantasy in Hardcover edition that was published by Random House for Young Readers on October 12, 1949 and has 56 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Sneetches and Other Stories, Horton Hatches the Egg & Horton Hears a Who!, Green Eggs and Ham, The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories, The Lorax, Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!, Daisy-Head Mayzie, Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, The King's Stilts, Scrambled Eggs Super!, Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories, You're Only Old Once!, My Many Colored Days, McElligot's Pool, If I Ran the Circus, Sleep Book, I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! and Other Stories, I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Another in the Bartholomew Cubbins series revolving around Bartholomew, a page boy in the service of the king.
In 1950, Bartholomew and the Oobleck won the Caldecott Honor.
My Take
It’s a case of be careful what you wish for as the king is bored, bored, bored. It’ll take a disaster for the king to say those simple words. Words that every child, teen, and adult should learn. And learn to speak.
I adored the lovely, soft pencil drawings on every page. And a clever idea for green to be the only color.
It’s a quick read with imaginative scenes for the kids (and adults) to envision. I could see playacting some of those sticky ones, pretending to be stuck to all sorts of silly things.
It’s also an opportunity for parents to talk about how those simple words can be easily said and what a relief it is on both sides when they are said.
The Story
It’s easy to get in trouble when you’re bored. And King Derwin is definitely bored. Bored with the rain. Bored with the sunshine. Bored with the fog. And bored with the snow.
Being king has its perks, and His Majesty demands something new from the sky.
The Characters
Bartholomew Cubbins is the challenging page boy in the Kingdom of Didd.
The Kingdom of Didd is…
…where King Derwin rules and has his own royal magicians. The bellringer, the trumpeter, and the Captain of the Guards are all begged to help.
Oobleck is what the magicians conjure.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a bright red cover with the title and a huge horizontal oval in white as Bartholomew watches on in horror as a green-covered blob rushes past. The author’s name is in black and in the bottom right corner of the oval.
The title is to the point, for it’s a race between Bartholomew and the Oobleck.
