Dr. Seuss Books as a Textual
Genre
Throughout his books, Dr. Seuss uses a lot of unique conventions
within his books which makes his stories different from others. One of the main
conventions Dr. Seuss uses within his books is that he creates new animals and creatures
from his imagination. A few examples of this are The Sneetches, The Lorax and
The Grinch. In addition to creating new creatures, Dr. Seuss will also create new
words to go along with his stories. Seuss will usually do this to name his made-up
creatures, people, food and places throughout his stories. Another convention
that Dr. Seuss uses within his books is consistent rhyming. Throughout most of
his books, Seuss will rhyme most of his lines with another because it’s his
style of writing. A couple of examples of this are his books, “There’s a Wocket
in my Pocket”, “Green Eggs and Ham” and “Hop on Pop”. One convention that Dr.
Seuss uses that many other children’s books use is that he makes his cover and pages
of the book very colorful. Just by looking at some of the covers of his books
you can tell that he wanted them to stand out. Another convention that Dr. Seuss
uses within his books is that most of the time the main character is an animal
or a creature. Instead of Dr. Seuss books revolving around humans, Dr. Seuss
will often have animals or even creatures he made up be the main character or protagonist
of his stories. A couple of examples of an animal or creature being the main
character are Dr. Seuss books, “The Cat in the Hat”, “Horton Hears a Who” and “Yertle
the Turtle”. The two final conventions throughout Dr. Seuss books I will be
talking about is the audience and the purpose. Throughout all his books, Dr.
Seuss targets children as his audience. Dr. Seuss writes his books knowing that
children are going to read them to themselves or have it read to them by
someone else. Because Dr. Seuss knows his audience is children he makes his
books easy to read by using small words and rhyming throughout his stories. Dr.
Seuss will also make up fun words and creatures which help define the purpose
of his books which is to entertain. The reason why Dr. Seuss uses all of these unique
conventions in his books is to make sure that the reader is entertained and has
fun while reading his books.
Pat, I really enjoyed reading your blog about Dr. Seuss. I think all of his books are very colorful and thoughtful and although they are targeted mostly at children, I'm sure no matter what age a person is, they are able to enjoy reading these books. There is no doubt that these books are so popular because of their creative and fun nature. I know that these books played a huge role in my childhood and I'm sure they did in many of our classmates childhoods as well.
ReplyDeletePat, this blog was very enjoyable to read since I have been a fan of Dr. Seuss since I was little. You are absolutely right that his target audience is children, given that his books are simple and short to read and understand. The main character is usually some type of animal or creature which I think helps kids relate more to his stories, it gives them something to enjoy. These books, hopefully, will continue to be popular for young children through many generations since they were such a big thing for us.
ReplyDeleteDr. Seuss is a great throwback to my childhood, if not everyones. I like how you included hoe Dr. Seuss makes up his own words for his storied. His made up words are one of the many special things about his writing, and is one of the things that make his stories so interesting and unique. An important convention that I think you missed, and is very important to his stories, is lessons or moral of the story. Almost every single story written by Dr. Seuss has some sort of life lesson in it. Also most of them are the simple but important lessons, which is important since the target audience is children. Not only are the kids being entertained, but they are learning life lessons as well.
ReplyDeletePat, I enjoyed reading about how Dr. Seuss books are a textual genre. When I was younger I did not know how to read in English up until around 6 years old and I would always have a Dr. Seuss book with me since it was the only book I would kind of understand. I like how you referenced some of Seuss’ more popular books like ‘Green Eggs & Ham’ which made me reminisce my child hood. Overall, you made a good point on how Dr. Seuss books are a textual genre. His made up words and creatures used in his stories definitely get attention brought to them by children. His books were a great example of fun, quick, and easy reads for children that most children were able to understand.
ReplyDeletePat, I really liked how you chose such a nostalgic topic to analyze in this PB. Reading this piece really brought me back to the good all days of childhood where nothing really mattered. Your analysis of this genre have really opened my eyes to how deep and meaningful these books actually are. I now have a better understanding of these books and that they weren't just a silly little children's book. These books actually teach kids life lessons and morals to live by.
ReplyDeletePat, i thought your writing on Dr.Seuss was very well written and included many strong examples of textual genres.In addition,your analysis of some of the books he had written really shows how focused Dr.Seuss was on bringing children's books to life.
ReplyDelete