On Beyond Zebra: 09/02/09

On Beyond Zebra by Dr. Seuss is a book I somehow missed in my own childhood. I have memories of reading through stacks and stacks of Seuss books but somehow this one wasn't among them. I first heard of it through my son who read it at his school library. He has been raving about it since he read it and I finally found a copy at our local library so I could read it.

On Beyond Zebra is a playful book that takes a look at our alphabet and proposes twenty-one extra letters with explanations of how they are needed. Although it might have been a typesetting nightmare for 1955, I would have liked to see Seuss's words spelled with the new letters. If I were still a child, I can see myself writing coded messages in Seuss's alphabet.

For Sean I can see why this book speaks to him more than almost any other Seuss book. He has just spent a year learning not only how to read in English but how to read and speak Chinese using the bopomofo and traditional characters. So from his point of view, that's two extra alphabets.

Dr. Seuss Reviews

• Hop on Pop
• I Wish That I Had Duck Feet
• If I Ran the Zoo
  
• Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go!
  
• On Beyond Zebra
  
• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
  
• Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories

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