Customer Reviews

Bartholomew and the Oobleck: (Caldecott Honor Book) (Classic Seuss)

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The King of Didd loved to look into the sky. But he was increasingly unhappy with what he saw -- only rain, snow, fog, and sunshine. As a powerful king, he decided to change things so he could get more.

The book is a wonderful look at the perils of getting what you think you want, a great lesson for children to learn at an early age. Unlike other Dr. Seuss books, this one is mostly in prose. The color in the illustrations is limited to green to flesh out the oobleck. The drawings and the humor though are first rate Dr. Seuss!

Bartholomew is the King's page boy, and the king's source of common sense. When the king decides to call in his magicians to create oobleck, Bartholomew's warnings are unheeded. Even the magicians give a warning, for they have never made oobleck before and don't quite know how it will turn out. Nevertheless, the king orders the magicians to go ahead. When the first green drops hit, the king decides to declare a holiday.

But soon there are problems. Oobleck is very sticky! And it's coming down in ever increasing quantities. What do you do?

The resolution is a particularly good one, for it reinforces the moral that any willful thing we decide to do can be undone if we unbend our will. (It also encourages good manners.)

Reading this book reminded me of when I was about five. I only liked to eat junk food. I begged my parents to buy ever larger quantities. Finally, my mother said. "All right. You're in charge of buying food for yourself this week. You'll have only that to eat." I stocked up on potato chips, candy, soft drinks, and other wonderful snacks. By the fourth day, I couldn't face any more junk food. I begged my mother to take back the job of selecting food for me!

After you finish enjoying the story, I suggest that you also talk to your child about how to get rid of unexpected substances. This can be a great encourager of creativity. For years, I have used an interview question that I learned during a scholarship interview while I was in high school. What would you do if you woke up one morning and the world was covered to a depth of 30 feet by ping pong balls?

A good lesson to reinforce is to encourage your child to consider what could go wrong, and how to handle that, before trying to make some change. That approach is good training for the realities of life.

Enjoy what you have!

Boy, this book takes me back when I was very young. I really enjoyed it. And, now that I'm considerably older, I still enjoy it. It is a story about a king who is bored with the things that fall from the sky (for example, rain, snow, etc.) and orders his magicians to make something new. They come up with oobleck, a green, gooey substance. But, when it begins to fall, it messes up everything and the king's page, Bartholomew, teaches the king the power of the words, "I'm sorry." The book was a 1950 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner-up to the Medal winner) for best illustration in a children's book.

Kids "get it", but do adults? I was surprised that my young neices and nephews got so much out of this story. The notion that wise men are often doing foolish things, that kings are often bad leaders, that the whims of the powerful wreak havoc on everyone else when indulged, and that children are the future (for better or worse), all come together here. And there are some things in life that are best left as they are, but that's not obvious until they're altered. Perhaps weather manipualation will become as common as irrigation and power distribution in the future. But until then, this (like many "Dr. Seuss" titles) is a book that uses the vehicle of a children's tale to make some very profound statements that speak to adults as well.

This book is a great motivational book for science class. After reading about the gooey sticky oobleck, take corn starch, water and food coloring to make your own oobleck. It looks like a liquad, but feels like a liquad and a solid! The kids love it

Bartholomew and the Oobleck begins with the King of Did being irritated and bored with the weather. His page, Bartholmew, tries to enlighten the king with simple common sense. The king ignores him and turns to (literally) magical solutions for his current peeve. When the results turn disastrous, Barthlomew tries to warn his friends in the castle. No one listens to him, being more concerned with their own business and as a result, they all end up worse off. Then, when the king finally listens to him, a ray of hope appears amidst the crisis.

Written in 1949, "Batholomew and the Oobleck", like its prequel, "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins" hardly feels like a Dr. Suess book. The illustrations look like charcoal sketches (except of course for the green oobleck) and the text lacks the sing-song poetry commonly associated with Suess books. Despite this, the Bartholomew books have withstood the tests of time and tastes because they touch on a subject that is near to the hearts of all children, but which is rarely addressed in children's literature. Many times children find themselves surrounded by adults hurrying about, fixated on their own agendas. When a child is in the thick of such a situation, he or she will often be ignored. After all, why should adults listen to children? BATO tells us why; children can sometimes see situations as clearly or moreso than adults specifically because they are not distracted by adult agendas! The lesson of BATO stands for all generations, and that is what makes it a timeless classic.

One of the few sequels Suess wrote,it is also one of the best.King Derwin wants to control the weather and has his magicians(in their secret cave in Neeka-Tave)conjur up a brand-new substance-which not even they know all about.The oobleck storm messes up the kingdom the day it falls-and King Derwin realizes how to stop it. With a little-okay,a big-help from Bartholemew, the King sees that the best magic words are the simplest ones.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck is my favorite Seuss. The King wants something new to come from the sky. He's tired of the sun, the rain, the wind and the snow. He sends his magicians to their secret cave in mystic mountain Neekatave. In the morning green sticky oobleck falls from the sky and gums up the entire kingdom. It's great fun watching everything get stickier and sticker. Even the King gets stuck to his throne. Of course Bartholomew saves the day. And the King learns that the right thing to do when you've messed up other people's lives is apologize. Silly me, I'd hoped that my daughter would learn to apologize when she's made a mistake -- if kings can do it --- but she didn't get the message. Still, the book is delightful. I don't see it as an anti-science tale. Yes, lots of folks tried to talk the King out of his experiment, but scientists get that anti-science fear all the time. They have to ignore it or they can't do their jobs. The King didn't fire the magicians. This experiment was a failure. That didn't mean he should give up his throne and quit trying. He apologized, and went on with his life. That's the way life is.

Growing together,

Lois...

Along with THE 500 HATS, THE KING'S STILTS, and the two Horton books, BARTHOLOMEW AND THE OOBLECK is part of a great suite of Dr. Seuss books for young readers.

Longer and more involved than the Seuss books for pre-readers, these books help bridge the gap between a child being read to, and a child reading on their own.

I bought this book with "The King's Stilts" (see my review). I think this is one of the best kids' books ever, and my kids loved it when they were small. It was a sad day when our record of it got buckled by being left in the sun. Unavailable as a book when my kids were little, this is a delightful story with a typical Dr Seuss moral ending - change is not always for the best and novelty is fraught with peril. Get it for your kids, or your grandkids - they will love it, just as I, my kids, and my grandkids do!

Seuss spotlights the social dangers of boredom and excess among the royal elite in this classic tragedy. Old King Derwin of Didd has grown tired of the same old weather, year-in and year-out, and asks the royal magicians to create a new weather phenomenon. The royal directions are clear, in spite of incantations to the contrary by his advisors. Will the King be repentent following the tragic consequenses of his order? Follow Bartholomew, the page boy, as he witnesses the bizarre events unfold. Review by Logan Norrell, Age 5, Pocatello, Idaho