By Dr. Seuss Group Project:
Laurie
Healy- Shayla Borpujari - Mary Eliahu 7/04
Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches-
Had bellies with stars.
The Plain-Belly Sneetches-Had none upon thars.
Those stars weren’t so big. They were really
so small.
You might think such a thing wouldn’t matter
at all.
But, because they had stars, all the
Star-Belly Sneetches
Would brag, “We’re the best kind of Sneetch on
the beaches.
With their snoots in the air, they would sniff
and they’d snort
“We’ll have nothing to do with the Plain-Belly
sort!”
And whenever they met some, when they were out
walking,
They’d hike right on past them without even
talking.
When the Star-Belly children went out to play
ball,
Could a Plain- Belly get in the game…? Not at
all.
You only could play if your bellies had stars
And the Plain-Belly children had none upon
thars.
When the Star-Belly Sneetches had frankfurter
roasts
Or picnics or parties or marshmallow toasts,
They never invited the Plain-Belly Sneetches.
They left them out cold, in the dark of the
beaches.
They kept them away. Never let them come near.
And that’s how they treated them year after
year.
Then ONE day, seems…while
the Plain-Belly Sneetches
Were moping and doping alone on the beaches,
Just sitting there wishing their bellies had
stars…
A stranger zipped up in the strangest of cars!
“My friends,” he announced in a voice clear and keen,
“My name is Sylvester McMonkey McBean.
And I’ve heard of your troubles. I’ve heard
you’re unhappy.
But I can fix that. I’m the Fix-it-Up Chappie.
I’ve come here to help you. I have what you
need.
And my prices are low. And I work at great
speed.
And my work is one hundred per cent
guaranteed!
Then, quickly Sylvester McMonkey McBean
Put together a very peculiar machine.
And he said, “You want stars like a Star-Belly
Sneetch…?
My friends, you can have them for three
dollars each!”
“Just pay me your money and hop right aboard!”
So they clambered inside. Then the big machine
roared
And it klonked. And it bonked. And it jerked.
And it berked
And it bopped them about. But the thing really
worked!
When the Plain-Belly Sneetches popped out,
they had stars!
They actually did. They had stars upon thars!
Then they yelled at the ones who had stars at
the start,
“We’re exactly like you! You can’t tell us
apart.
We’re all just the same, now, you snooty old
smarties!
And now we can go to your frankfurter
parties.”
“Good grief!” groaned the ones who had stars
at the first.
“We’re still the best Sneetches and they are
the worst.
But, now, how in the world will we know,” they
all frowned,
“If which kind is what, or the other way
round?”
Then came
McBean with a very sly wink.
And he said, “Things are not quite as bad as
you think.
So you don’t know who’s who. That is perfectly
true.
But come with me, friends. Do you know what
I’ll do?
I’ll make you, again, the best Sneetches on
beaches
And all it will cost you is ten dollars
eaches.”
“Belly stars are no longer in style,” said
McBean.
“What you need is a trip through my Star-off
Machine.
This wondrous contraption will take off your
stars
So you won’t look like Sneetches who have them
on thars.”
And that handy machine Working very precisely
Removed all the stars from their tummies quite
nicely.
Then, with snoots in the air, they paraded about
And they opened their beaks
and they let out a shout,
“We know who is who! Now there isn’t a doubt.
The best kind of Sneetches are Sneetches
without!”
Then, of course, those with stars all got
frightfully mad.
To be wearing a star now was frightfully bad.
Then, of course, old Sylvester McMonkey McBean
Invited them into his star-off machine.
Then, of course from THEN on, as you probably
guess,
Things really got into a horrible mess.
All the rest of that day, on those wild
screaming beaches,
The fix-it-up Chappie kept fixing up
Sneetches.
Off again! On Again! In again! Out again!
Through the machines they raced round and
about again,
Changing their stars every minute or two.
They kept paying money. They kept running
through
Until neither the Plain nor the Star-Bellies
knew
Whether this one was that one…or that one was
this one
Or which one was what one …or what one was
who.
Then, when every last cent
Of their money was spent,
The Fix-it-Up Chappie packed up
And he went.
And he laughed as he drove
In his car up the beach,
“They never will learn.
No. You can’t teach a Sneetch!”
But McBean was quite wrong. I’m quite happy to
say
That the Sneetches got really quite smart on
that day,
The day they decided that Sneetches are
Sneetches
And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the
beaches
That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars
And whether they had one, or not, upon thars.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0394800893/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-2337686-7903916#reader-link
click on above link for
a couple of pages of this book
WOOOOoooooo Dr. Seuss--
by Mary Eliahu
Dr. Seuss wrote “Sneetches”, in 1961 to teach children about discrimination.
He wrote the book to address how different groups of people didn’t like each
other during World War II. A number of the Seuss books address the subject
of diversity and teach children to be fair and treat people equally. Ted Geisel’s
(Dr. Seuss) family was German immigrants and was often targets for many slurs
to their heritage. Ted and his sister overcame this ridicule during their
teenage years when they became active participants in the pro-American campaign
of World War I.
Dr. Seuss also wrote several books that teach similar themes
that are directed to the adults, who he called “obsolete children.” One book
called, “The Butter Battle Book,” written in 1984 appeared for six months on
the New York Times bestseller list for adults, and it dealt with the dangers of
nuclear weapons. Another book that caught the attention of both children and
adults alike was, “The Lorax” published in 1997. “The Lorax,” grew out of Mr.
Geisel’s anger at the damage that was being done to the earth, water, and air.
“The Lorax” is now considered a classic and deals with caring for the
environment, a subject that concerned Mr. Geisel throughout his life.
There are forty-eight Dr. Seuss books in print, and close to ninety million
copies have been sold. His books have been translated into more than twenty
languages, including Maori, Japanese, and Dutch. The first book he wrote and
published was, “And To Think That I saw it On Mulberry Street.” His famous,
“The Cat In The Hat” book was written in 1957 after Dr. Seuss read an article
in Life magazine that criticized the “Dick and Jane” school readers. Mr. Geisel’s
publisher, Random House, challenged him to write a ‘better’ reader using the
school boards approved list of 223 easy-to-read words, the result was “The
Cat.” Due to the success of “The Cat In The Hat,” Mr. Geisel wrote other beginner
reading books that were received very well.
Ted Geisel, or Dr. Seuss, was a very private guy and he had a great sense
of humor. He and his wife never had children when asked why he would reply,
‘You have them, and I’ll entertain them.’ He always claimed the reason his
animal characters looked the way they did was because he couldn’t draw! He
had many answers when asked where he found his ideas; one answer was “in the
Arizona desert, where I pick the brain of a retired thunderbird.” He always
said that you could fool an adult with purple prose, but a kid could tell
if you were faking immediately. As he got older he said that age had no effect
on him, “I surf as much as I always have! I climb Mount Everest as much as
I always have!” On a more serious note, Mr. Geisel was once asked if he had
any words of wisdom to share with the world, he thought for a minute and said,
“We (U.S.A.) can do and we’ve got to do better than this.” Dr.
Seuss died at the age of 87…one young fan wrote, “we’ll always remember him
until the day he comes back alive.”
Reaction: by Shayla Borpujari
“The grass is always greener on the other side” and “I have a
star so I’m better than you” are two thoughts that come to mind after reading
the book Sneetches by Dr. Seuss. This book is a simple yet a perfect example of
the complicated issue of discrimination that so many people face today. Why
can’t everyone be treated equally no matter what their differences are? The
Sneetches all looked the same except for the ‘oh so important’ star on their
bellies. I can’t believe how such a little difference between them could create
such a big issue. It kept on going around in circles. I was happy to see in the
end that they all became friends and got along; it is just too bad that humans
can’t do the same thing. Dr. Seuss wrote an amazing book that teaches a
wonderful lesson every child should read. Out of all of his books, famous and
not so famous, I would choose Sneetches to be the award-winning book on top of
all the others. If every person in the world would learn from Dr. Seuss’ lesson
in his book, then I think we would be able to cure the discrimination problem
so many people deal with every day of their lives. Our differences is what
makes us unique. We can all learn from
our histories and the cultures of other people and perhaps even benefit. Everyone should learn to get along and
accept each other no matter what they are different for. It is possible to end
discrimination, and one day I'm sure it will. But everyone has to be compliant
and learn the great lesson of Dr. Seuss’ book Sneetches teaches.
Short
Biography on Dr. Seuss: by Shayla Borpujari- Mary Eliahu- and Laurie Healy
·
Theodor Geisel was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield,
Massachusetts
·
The family were German immigrants
·
Attends Dartmouth College in 1925 and was the
editor of “The Jack-o-Lantern college magazine
·
Started using the name Seuss while in college,
his mother’s maiden name
·
Attends Oxford College meets and marries Helen
Palmer in 1927
·
Works for “Judge”, a magazine, writing
cartoons and humorous articles
·
Goes on to work as an advertiser for an insecticide
company called Flit
·
Vacations in Europe in 1936 and writes his
first book “And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street,” while listening to the
rhythm of the ship’s engines
·
In 1937 a friend publishes the book after 43
prior rejections
·
During WW II Mr. Geisel joined the army and
was sent to Hollywood where he made documentaries dealing with the war
·
In 1954 Life Magazine reported the Dick and
Jane Readers were boring, Ted’s publisher challenged him to write a new reader
and “The Cat In The Hat” was born
·
1960 Ted accepts another challenge to write a
book using only 50 words and “Green Eggs and Ham” was born
·
Ted’s wife Helen dies in 1960 and Ted
remarries Audrey Stone Diamond in 1968
·
Theodor Seuss Geisel dies on September 1991
·
November 17,1991 at Balboa Park in San Diego a
celebration in honor of Theodor Geisel called, “Sunday in the Park with Seuss”
-Seventy-five thousand people attended and ate green eggs and ham
Reaction : Laurie Healy
The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss is always a favorite
because it can be used with any age group from kindergarten through high
school. This is a wonderful story and a perfect example that really pin-points
how ridiculous discrimination really is. This book is about discrimination
based not on religion or race, but on belly stars. The stars are a perfect way to relate the lesson to a
child at an appropriate level while getting the message across loud and clear.
This is a touchy subject, but it sends a clear and necessary message for
children kindergarten through adulthood.
"Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches Had bellies with stars. The
Plain-Belly Sneetches Had none upon thars." The stars are the identifying
mark that differentiates one group of Sneetches from another and this obvious
difference forces the Sneetches to discriminate against the other group of
Sneetches. "When the Star-Belly Sneetches had frankfurter roasts or
picnics or parties or marshmallow toasts, they never invited the Plain-Belly
Sneetches. They left them out cold, in the dark of the beaches. They kept them
away. Never let them come near. And that's how they treated them year after
year."
As
many of us prepare to become teachers we must level the playing field in our
classrooms as much as possible in order to set up a safe environment where the
children can all grow and learn. Studies have shown low achieving children
being placed in a “gifted program” actually perform up to expected levels. The
reverse is also true. Self fulfilling prophecy is apparent at all levels. Dr.
Seuss has focused on a subject that needs to be focused on, and one that we as
teachers need to integrate into our libraries for the children and the families
we are able to touch.
Interesting
Websites to visit Dr. Seuss
http://www.seuss.org/seuss/seuss.bio.html
http://www.seussville.com/lb/bio_text1.html
Websites
related to Discrimination
http://www.mhmedia.com/press/toolkit.html
http://www.takingitglobal.org/themes/hr
http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/problem/prejdisc.htm