Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories (Hardcover)

by Dr. Seuss (Author) "On the far-away Island of Sala-ma-Sond, Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond..." (more)
Key Phrases: Turtle King

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Yet more wisdom cast down from high atop Mt. Seuss, this cheerful trio of tales teaches some valuable lessons in humility--thanks to a sharp-eyed worm, a bragging bear and rabbit, a fuzzy-tailed bird, and a couple hundred turtles led by their foolish King Yertle.

Yertle's story leads off with his attempt to build a bigger kingdom on the backs of his loyal subjects (literally). King of everything he can see, Yertle orders his turtles to stack up under him to build a towering throne. ("He made each turtle stand on another one's back and he piled them all up in a nine-turtle stack.") But a plain little turtle named Mack--stuck at the bottom--decides he's had enough. ("I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down on the bottom we, too, should have rights!")

Following Yertle's downfall, a whiny girl-bird named Gertrude McFuzz wishes she had two feathers, just like Miss Lolla-Lee-Lou: "One droopy-droop feather. That's all that she had. And, oh! That one feather made Gertrude so sad." But even when Gertrude gets her wish--and then some--she finds that vanity has its price. Meanwhile, in "The Big Brag," a proud rabbit and an even-prouder bear duke it out in a battle of the senses, arguing over who's the best of the beasts, only to get their clever comeuppance from a wild-eyed little worm. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

Product Description
Illustrated in color. Three modern fables in humorous pictures and verse: "Yertle the Turtle," "Gertrude McFuzz," and "The Big Brag."

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Random House; First Edition edition (April 12, 1958)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394800877
• ISBN-13: 978-0394800875
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,497 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pride Goeth Before the Fall, September 6, 2000

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in avariety 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. Yertle the Turtle was one of her picks.

This book has three stories in it, each with the same theme: Making Yourself More Self-Important Is the Wrong Direction!

Those who are familiar with Dr. Seuss's works during World War II as a political cartoonist will recognize the Yertle the Turtle theme as part of his satire of fascist dictators....

Your child will meet a lot of bossy people in her or his life, and this book can help prepare the way for understanding that one must assert one's rights or be trampled on. The child who is a natural leader can also learn the lesson of not abusing others. This story is a fundamental one for a democracy and should be read by every child. You will want to discuss applications of the lesson, as well, with your child.

The drawings are very funny and will keep your child laughing throughout.

Gertrude McFuss is about the dangers of envy. She was a girl-bird with the smallest plain tail ever. She had just one droopy-drop feather. Her friend, Lolla-Lee-Lou, had two feathers . . . both of which were larger. Gertrude decided she must has two also....

Your child will undoubtedly develop some envy of another child at this age. This story can help you point out the dangers of envy, and the very real drawbacks of getting what you want in many cases. So if your child decides this story is funny (and he or she will), you can then switch over to examples relating to clothing, toys and so forth in the child's own life.

The Big Brag is about a rabbit who competes with a bear to see which animal is the best....

This story is obviously focused on the importance of letting your deeds speak for you. Children like to get into squabbles like this about their potential and ability, and your reading of this story can help avoid that.

These timeless lessons should be irresistible for your child!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Seuss understands leadership, September 4, 2003

By	James Vaughan "jamesevaughan" (Schaumburg, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Yertle the turtle is a great book on leadership. It teaches you how NOT to be a leader. Yertle ordered the other turtles to pile up in order that he could be on top and be "king of all that I see." In the end the turtles collapsed and Yertle was back on earth with the rest of the turtles.

We see so many leaders that are like Yertle. Climbing all over others to get to the top. They often take the big fall much as Yertle did.

True leaders will develop those who work for them. The other "turtles" will elevate the leader to the top creating a sound foundation to allow the leader to stay at the top.

Don't be like Yertle.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily the finest book ever written on turtle stacking., November 30, 1998

By	[e-mail] "neil_weinstein" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

Dr. Seuss tops himself once again with this exciting tale of turtle stacking, a difficult and dangerous pastime, to say the least. The fate of Yertle, King of the Turtles, should be a lesson to us all: success earned on the backs of the lowest turtles is no success at all, and will soon crumble.