Oh, the Places You'll Go! [Hardcover]

Dr. Seuss (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 22, 1990 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years | Lexile Measure: 600L (What's this?)

Dr. Seuss's wonderfully wise graduation speech is the perfect send-off for children starting out in the world, be they nursery, high school, or college grads! With his trademark use of humorous verse and illustrations, Dr. Seuss addresses the the ups and downs life presents while encouraging readers to find the success that lies within them all.

"Don't be fooled by the title of this seriocomic ode to success; it's not 'Climb Every Mountain,' kid version. All journeys face perils, whether from indecision, from loneliness, or worst of all, from too much waiting. Seuss' familiar pajama-clad hero is up to the challenge, and his odyssey is captured vividly in busy two-page spreads evoking both the good times (grinning purple elephants, floating golden castles) and the bad (deep blue wells of confusion). Seuss' message is simple but never sappy: life may be a 'Great Balancing Act,' but through it all 'There's fun to be done.'"—(starred) Booklist.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Inspirational yet honest, and always rhythmically rollicking, Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a perfect sendoff for children, 1 to 100, entering any new phase of their lives. Kindergartners, graduate students, newlyweds, newly employeds--all will glean shiny pearls of wisdom about the big, bountiful future. The incomparable Dr. Seuss rejoices in the potential everyone has to fulfill their wildest dreams: "You'll be on your way up! / You'll be seeing great sights! / You'll join the high fliers / who soar to high heights." At the same time, he won't delude the starry-eyed upstart about the pitfalls of life: "You can get all hung up / in a prickle-ly perch. / And your gang will fly on. / You'll be left in a Lurch."

But fear not! Dr. Seuss, with his inimitable illustrations and exhilarating rhymes, is convinced ("98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed") that success is imminent. As long as you remember "to be dexterous and deft. And NEVER mix up your right foot with your left," things should work out. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3-- The master of enjoyable didacticism offers a flight of fancy into the future of a generic "you" who is venturing out into the world, where he will have ups and downs but will succeed and finally "MOVE MOUNTAINS!" While doting relatives will find this extended greeting card an ideal gift for nursery school graduates, the story will have less appeal for children than Seuss' story books and easy readers. Seuss' characteristic drawings carry and extend the text through mazelike streets, over colorful checkerboard landscapes, into muddy blue "slumps," through heady highs when fame results from success at the game of life, and through dark, lonely confrontations with graveyard-like fears in times of solitude. While the text gives a strong message of self-determination and potential, the small, male "you" pictured seems more of a passive passenger on his journey through life, reacting to things as they come and walking along with his eyes shut on both the first and last pages of the text. Although this does not rank among the best of Seuss' books, its stress on self-esteem and imaginative artwork make it a good addition to picture-book collections. --Louise L. Sherman, Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 56 pages
• Publisher: Random House (January 22, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679805273
• ISBN-13: 978-0679805274
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (707 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #1 in Books > Children's Books > Education & Reference > Careers
  • #1 in Books > Children's Books > Classics
  • #1 in Books > Children's Books > Humor

More About the Author

"A person's a person, no matter how small," Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, would say. "Children want the same things we want. To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and delighted."

Brilliant, playful, and always respectful of children, Dr. Seuss charmed his way into the consciousness of four generations of youngsters and parents. In the process, he helped millions of kids learn to read.

Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1925, he went to Oxford University, intending to acquire a doctorate in literature. At Oxford, Geisel met Helen Palmer, whom he wed in 1927. Upon his return to America later that year, Geisel published cartoons and humorous articles for Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at that time. His cartoons also appeared in major magazines such as Life, Vanity Fair, and Liberty. Geisel gained national exposure when he won an advertising contract for an insecticide called Flit. He coined the phrase, "Quick, Henry, the Flit!" which became a popular expression.

Geisel published his first children's book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, in 1937, after 27 publishers rejected it.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, an Academy Award, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Caldecott Honors, Geisel wrote and illustrated 44 books. While Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#80 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#78 in Books

#78 in Books

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 122 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect High School or College Graduation Gift July 8, 2001

By Antoinette Klein TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Dr. Seuss isn't just for the pre-school set, but you probably already knew that. This book of brightly colored illustrations and whimsical rhymes makes the perfect gift for anyone setting out on a new adventure, so buy copies for every high school and college graduate on your list. As Seuss tells us "There is fun to be done!" and this joyous ode to personal fulfillment tells you how to meet up with it while combating fear, loneliness, and confusion. After all, what better advice could anyone give a new grad than to say "You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." This is inspired good fun, sure to please everyone.

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the pre-schooler as well as the college grad! July 24, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I first heard this book read on a radio program while driving, I had tears in my eyes and knew that I had to buy this as a graduation present for my daughter who was to be graduating from college in a week. My descision was based on the fact that she learned to read using Dr. Suess before entering kindergarten, why not end her scholastic career with Dr. Suess. She loved and apprecatied the gift and I'm sure she'll share it over and over with her nieces and nephews and her own children someday. It's so to the point, you have shoes on your feet and brains in your head....

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and inspirational! October 25, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I gave this book to my cousin when she graduated from high school. Unfortunately I was late in shipping it to her as she had joined the Army Reserves and was already in boot camp, so her Mother had to forward the book to her. There was a policy that recruits could not receive packages while in boot camp,so her Drill Sergeant made her open the package in his presence. He read the book and was so moved that he asked her to read it aloud to the entire platoon. When she finished, they all had tears in their eyes. She said it was the perfect message for the new recruits. All future graduates will receive a copy of OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! from me. Thank you Dr. Seuss, you are a genius!

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Appropriate Confidence-Building for Children of All Ages! September 24, 2000

By Donald Mitchell HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. Oh, the Places You'll Go! was one of her picks.

This book describes a future filled with unlimited potential ('you can steer any direction you choose'), success ('you'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead'), set-backs ('you can get all hung up on a prickle-ly perch'), and overcoming obstacles ('somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying').

Many will mischaracterize this book. Since it starts with the words, 'Congratulations! Today is your day.', some will see it only in the context of some special event. At one level, it could certainly be a graduation present for a high school or college grad. At another level, it can be given to those who are moving on from one school to another. You can also see it as a gift for any transition, even if from one grade to the next.

But, I think that the more important application of this book is in setting a standard of parental beliefs for your child about one's child's future life. Psychologists in book after book tell us that parents tend not to be supportive enough, and that teenagers and adult children feel that they have never lived up to their parents' standards.... This book can play a very important role in conveying what those standards are and making them match up nicely with what will probably occur in your child's life. That's a tremendous resource, and one that all of us should avail outselves of! In particular, the end says, 'And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.). Notice, that the guarantee comes after faithfully pointing out that the path to success is never straight, that there will be setbacks, and that there will be self-doubt and delays. Hearing that guarantee in the context of the likely difficulties makes one realize that optimism and perserverance are what is being encouraged here. Also, setbacks and delays are merely that ... not failure or failing to meet parental standards.

Psychologists tell us that those who believe they can succeed will put up twice the effort of those who doubt their success.

So after thinking about it, I propose that the day to give this book to someone who has never seen it before is on the darkest day of their life, when all seems bleak and impossible. It may make all of the difference. The gift will be all the more meaningful if you (or someone else) read this book to them when they were younger.

With your children, the right time to introduce this book is as young as possible, so that the belief in their success and the realistic challenges of success will be grounded as soon and as deeply as possible.

So you may give this book as a gift to the same child many times in a lifetime. But don't leave out those who need it who are not your children! They need it even more if their parents did not read Oh, the Places You'll Go! to them as a child!

After you have read this book to your child or given it as a gift to someone else, consider the other ways that you can appropriately boost the self-confidence of that person. Telling a story about your own setbacks and how you overcame them may help. Making yourself more human will also bring you closer together!

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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, the Places You'll Go November 22, 2000

By Danielle

Format:Hardcover

As I embark on yet ANOTHER new chapter of my life, I find I am constantly questioning my every move, encountering new crossroads and rebuilding my somewhat depleting self-belief. Last night my best friend Shannon called me on the phone asking if she could read me a bedtime story. It's been more than 20 years since someone asked me if they could read to me before bed but I instantly reverted to my childhood and out of habit curled up in bed and asked 'what's the book called' before she even opened a page. As the words flowed through her lips, I was dumbfounded at how closely it related to my own life ... it was like Dr. Seuss wrote ME a book. Oh, the Places You'll Go answered EVERY question I have been asking myself for months. All my 'what ifs' 'ands' or 'buts' are no more. All too soon, Shannon came to the end and closed the book, I was speechless and tearful but ironically, I had new zest and energy pumping through my veins ... I wanted to jump to my feet and scream 'I'm going to do it ... I'm going to climb to the top!!! Dr. Seuss makes reference to people in the 'waiting period' where so many of us stay out of fear ... I'm not scared any more!!! No matter how old one is when they pick up this book, it will reflect on their present life and put it into perspective. The next time you find yourself 'questioning', pick up Oh, the Places You'll Go, or better yet have someone read it outloud .. listen to the words, let them seep through your pours and I guarantee ... Dr. Seuss will inspire :)