[BOOK REVIEW] Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss

Title:  Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?

Author:  Dr. Seuss

Genre:  Children's / Fantasy

Year Published: 1970

Year Read:  1994 (Re-Read: 2019)

Publisher:  Random House

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 3+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Man, Dr. Seuss sure did write a lot of children’s books!  Luckily, I was able to read so many of his books when I was little and they were always such a joy to read through!  But when I was little, some of his books managed to make it to these obscure little videos that I used to watch a lot and one of those books that I had watched on these videos was “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?”  I still cannot believe that I have not written a review for this book yet, but now I am!

“Oh, the wonderful things Mr. Brown can do!”

Mr. Brown can make sounds out of anything.  Like he can sound like a cow by going, “MOO! MOO!” And he can also sound like a bee by going “BUZZ! BUZZ”

Can you make various sounds like Mr. Brown can?

Oh man!  I just loved how Dr. Seuss is able to make a book about sounds be so creative and fun to read!  When I read this book as a child, I always had fun repeating the various sounds that Mr. Brown made, such as making buzzing sounds like a bee, making popping noises like a cork, making sounds like “DIBBLE DIBBLE DOPP DOPP” to represent the sound of rain falling and making noises like thunder and lightning.  Dr. Seuss’ artwork is as creative as ever as Mr. Brown is mostly clad in a brown outfit which goes well with his name.  I also loved seeing his facial expressions whenever he was making sounds, like having his eyes squint whenever he is making sounds that are hard to do, like a hippopotamus chew gum!

Overall, “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?” is a fantastic book for anyone who loves reading about sounds and loves reading Dr. Seuss books in general!  I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

You might also like:

• Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by Dr. Seuss

• Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

• The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

[BOOK REVIEW] There's a Wocket in my Pocket! by Dr. Seuss

Title:  There's a Wocket in my Pocket!

Author:  Dr. Seuss

Genre:  Children's / Fantasy

Year Published: 1974

Year Read:  2010

Publisher:  Beginner Books

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (One Scary Image)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“There’s a Wocket in my Pocket!” is truly a brilliant book from the creative mind of Dr. Seuss and it is about how a young boy tells the audience about the strange yet fun-loving creatures that live in a young boy’s house.  “There’s a Wocket in my Pocket!” is definitely one of the greatest books about rhyming ever written!

Dr. Seuss has done a splendid job at both writing and illustrating this book.  Dr. Seuss illustrations are truly great and creative as he illustrates the boy with a red outfit and spiky brown hair, which makes him a truly unique character in the book.  Also, the images of the creatures themselves are creative, especially of the images of the nupboards in the cupboards looking furry and yellow and have cotton ball shaped heads.  Dr. Seuss’ story is truly creative as the names that the boy gives to each creature is truly inventive as the names rhyme with various furniture that the creatures associate with such as the yeps on the steps and the vug under the rug.

“There’s a Wocket in my Pocket!” is a brilliant book that children will easily love for many years.  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since the image of the vug under the rug might scare smaller children.

You might also like:

• Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss

• The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss

• Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by Dr. Seuss

[BOOK REVIEW] Great Day for Up by Dr. Seuss

Title:  Great Day for Up

Author:  Dr. Seuss

Artist: Quentin Blake

Genre:  Humor / Inspiration / Children's

Year Published: 1974

Year Read:  1992 (Re Read: 2018)

Publisher:  Beginner Books

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 3+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Now, I have been reading Dr. Seuss’ books for DECADES now and I think that I have almost read all of the books that were written by Dr. Seuss (told you I have been reading his books for DECADES)! This also includes the books that Dr. Seuss wrote, but did not illustrate as there were some other artists that illustrated Dr. Seuss’ works, such as Lane Smith’s artwork in Dr. Seuss’ book “Hooray For Diffendoofer Day!”  “Great Day for Up” is another book that was written by Dr. Seuss, but has artwork by Quentin Blake, who was well known for his artwork in Roald Dahl’s children’s books and it was quite an interesting read!

This book is basically about the narrator encouraging everyone around the world to get up in the morning and approach a new day with a smile on their faces!

Dr. Seuss had done a great job at writing this book as the verses are short, creative and silly and I often found myself giggling at the crazy verses about the people in the book getting up in the morning, such as this cute little verse:

“Up, whales!

Up, snails!

Up, rooster!

Hen!

Up!

Girls and women!

Boys and men!”

I also liked the fact that this book is similar to Dr. Seuss’ other work “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” as it is another book that reinforces positivity for yourself and that you should get up and go out into the world to do the things that you really want to do.  I also loved the ending of this book as it was probably the most hilarious moment in the book and I definitely recommend that you read the ending for yourselves to see what I mean!  I must admit that I do find Quentin Blake’s artwork to be adorable to look at in this book as all the characters are rendered in a slightly scratchy look and look a bit exaggerated with their expressions, which is something I have always enjoyed about Quentin Blake’s artwork.  I also enjoyed seeing the images of the various characters jumping around excitedly at the approaching new day upon them.

The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because even though I thought that Quentin Blake’s artwork was cute, I personally think that it looked a bit out of place in a Dr. Seuss book, even though I was alright with Lane Smith’s artwork in “Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!”  I guess I was so used to Dr. Seuss doing the artwork for his own books that seeing another artist do the artwork for his books kind of threw me off a bit.

Overall, “Great Day for Up” is a truly cute book about getting up in the mornings to approach a new day ahead of you that children will definitely be inspired by!  I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

You might also like:

• Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by Dr. Seuss

• Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss

• The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss

[BOOK REVIEW] More Spaghetti, I Say! by Rita Golden Gelman

Title:  More Spaghetti, I Say!

Author:  Rita Golden Gelman

Artist:  Jack Kent

Genre:  Animals / Humor / Food / Friendship

Year Published: 1977

Year Read:  1990 (Re Read: 2018)

Publisher:  Scholastic Inc.

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

This is yet another special review where I review one of my most favorite books from my childhood in rhyme, since this particular children’s book is told in a rhyme!

There were two monkeys named Minnie and Freddy,   

Freddy wanted to play, all excited and ready.

But all Minnie wanted was her precious SPAGHETTI,

She wanted that spaghetti more than she wanted to play with Freddy.

More Spaghetti, I say, said Minnie, all happy,

Although Freddy was thinking this was getting too sappy.

With that spaghetti, Minnie did all kinds of things,

Including putting spaghetti on pancakes and ice cream, Minnie sings.

Can Freddy get Minnie off her spaghetti fever?

Read this book just to see her!                                                                                          

Rita Golden Gelman’s writing was just so fun!

I could read this book all day in the sun.

This book made me want to eat some more spaghetti,

If I could eat a thousand bowls of spaghetti, then I am ready!

Minnie and Freddy’s dialogue with each other was wacky and witty!

I wish I had a wacky friend like Minnie in the city!

Although I think it is weird to put spaghetti on everything,

Which just goes to show how wacky this book really is, I sing.

Jack Kent’s artwork is such a delight to see!

All the characters are as cute as can be!

I love the images of spaghetti everywhere,

It really features the prominence of spaghetti in the air!

So overall, “More Spaghetti, I Say!” was such a joy to read!

It is definitely a fantastic book with these words that I heed.

Children everywhere will definitely love the wackiness of this book,

For children ages four and up, it is definitely worth a look!

You might also like:

• Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth

• There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback

• Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback

[BOOK REVIEW] Big Bad Bruce by Bill Peet

Title:  Big Bad Bruce

Author:  Bill Peet

Genre:  Animals / Manners / Bullying / Magic

Year Published: 1977

Year Read:  2009

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 6+  (Bullying)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“Big Bad Bruce” is another classic tale by Bill Peet and it is about how Bruce the Bear tortures small creatures and he eventually gets what he deserves when Roxy the witch shrinks him down to the size of a chipmunk.  The lesson of this story may have not been taught right, but this book is still a treat for children to read.

Bill Peet does an excellent job at illustrating and writing the story “Big Bad Bruce.”  First, I like to talk about Bill Peet’s illustrations as they are beautiful and colorful when he illustrates Bruce to seem more like a scruffy and mischievous bear rather than a scary and vicious bear.  The image that I really enjoyed was the image of Bruce standing up on his hind legs looking for some mischief to do as he has a mischievous grin on his face.  Second, I like to talk about Bill Peet’s writing as he effectively uses a fantasy element (witchcraft) to make Bruce see everything from a chipmunk’s point of view and learns about how the other animals felt when he picked on them.  Roxy was probably the most interesting character in this story as she was the only one who was able to stand up to Bruce when he was big and I love how she creatively teaches Bruce a lesson about bullying by shrinking him down to the size of a chipmunk.

“Big Bad Bruce” is an interesting story about the consequences of teasing other people, but parents may want to avert their children about the real lesson being taught her, instead of doing what Bruce has done at the end of the book.  I would recommend this book to children ages six and up due to some advanced vocabulary in this book and the fact that Bruce had not really learned his lesson.

You might also like:

• Fly Homer Fly by Bill Peet

• The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock by Bill Peet

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[BOOK REVIEW] How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head by Bill Peet

Title:  How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head

Author:  Bill Peet

Genre:  Animals / Royalty / Friendship / Adventure

Year Published: 1971

Year Read:  2009

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head” is another classic book from the creative mind of Bill Peet and is about a friendly dragon named Droofus who ends up being the friendliest dragon ever.  “How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head” may be a bit tedious for some children who want action, but it is still an instant classic for many children to read.

Bill Peet’s story about a friendly dragon is a great tale for many children who love reading about dragons and mythical creatures.  The scene in this book that stuck out the most was where Droofus saves a grasshopper from being eaten by a spider and that is where Droofus contemplates on whether or not he should eat the grasshopper.  Of course, Droofus decides to not eat the grasshopper and goes on a diet of grass, which proves how humane Droofus becomes as the story progresses.  Bill Peet’s illustrations are beautiful, especially of the images of Droofus flying over the countryside and you can see the old fashioned houses as Droofus flies over them.

“How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head” is a great book about friendship and how kindness can make one a happy person that many children will read over and over again for many years.  I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since I do not see anything that would be inappropriate for young children.

* 1976 Colorado Children's Book Award

You might also like:

• Randy's Dandy Lions by Bill Peet

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• Fly Homer Fly by Bill Peet