Wonderful, from Aunt Annie's alligator all the way to Zizzer-zazzer-zuzz

It was a particularly tense moment on ER. Doctor Mark Greene, recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, was in the middle of a delicate surgical procedure on his brain. While he was awake, no less. Tension mounted as the surgeon carefully poked at Mark’s brain, trying to destroy the bad while saving the good. He constantly questioned his patient as he probed, wanting to make sure he wasn’t destroying any crucial parts of the brain. Finally he instructed Mark to list some words beginning with the letter B.

“What begins with B?” said Mark.

If your first thought was “barber, baby, bubbles, and a bumble bee!” you are not alone. You were joined by millions of parents who can immediately recall any page from Dr. Seuss’s ABC Book, having read it aloud hundreds of times.

Why do our kids like this book so much? My 20-month-old is too young to be entranced by the wonderfully silly Seussian illustrations, but older children love the goofy renditions of people and animals (not to mention bubbles and nine new neckties). But the biggest part of its charm is evident when it’s read aloud… it’s just fun!

Big G, little G, what begins with G?
Goat, girl, goo-goo goggles! G… g… G!

All Dr. Seuss books are entertaining, but this one is educational as well. It’s a wonderful way to introduce children to the alphabet. The book features two genderless characters (though one is apparently named Ichabod) relating silly rhymes for each letter of the alphabet. Each letter is featured in both upper and lower case. As you would expect with Dr. Seuss, this book goes beyond the typical “A is for apple” found in other alphabet books. In Dr. Seuss’s world, aunts ride on alligators, policemen are in pails, and boys named Donald dream of duck-dogs and donuts. Not a zebra or X-ray machine in sight.

Like all Dr. Seuss books, the ABC book is fun to read and loved by children of all ages. It’s one of my daughter’s favorites, and I highly recommend it.

Note: This review was written as part of a write-off in honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday. Other participants include ar_c and stacyintx.