Happy
107 Birthday,
Dr. Seuss
Tuesdays with Mrs. Cooke
Not Just For Kids
Today is Dr. Seuss’ birthday! Most of you
know Dr. Seuss from hearing his stories when
you were a kid. You probably don’t know that
his stories for kids are really for adults. As an
8th grader, I think you are old enough to learn
about the real meaning of his stories.
The Lorax
The Lorax was Dr. Seuss’ favorite story. It
reminds us that one person can make a
difference. The environment is important to
us.
The Sneetches
Dr. Seuss hated anti-Semitism. The Nazis
often required Jews to wear yellow stars on
their clothing to show they were Jewish.
“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....
...And, really, it's sort of a terrible shame,
For except for those stars, every Sneetch is the same.”
Yertle the Turtle
Yertle is a selfish turtle who climbs over
everyone to be at the top. A little turtle stuck at
the bottom eventually 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!“
Yertle is a cartoon version of Adolf Hitler.
Adolf Hitler and Dr. Seuss
“I had no great causes or interest in social
issues until Hitler.”
Reading Political Cartoons
To read and understand a political
cartoon, you must infer what it means.
To infer what it means, you look at
the clues in the pictures and words.
Then you add your schema for what the
clues might mean.
Your Assignment
Copy this chart on your paper.
Fill out the chart for each cartoon.
Clues from the
pictures and text
My Schema
(What the clues remind
me of or might be about)
Dr. Seuss’ message
Clues from the
pictures and
text
My Schema
(What the
clues remind
me of or might
be about)
Dr. Seuss’
message
•Adolf the Wolf
•Her shirt says “America
First”
•The kids look scared
•The book says the wolf
chewed up the kids, but
it didn’t matter because
they were foreign
children
•Adolf Hitler
•America didn’t want to
get into the war with
Germany
•Hitler killed many
people
•America might care
more if Hitler was killing
American children
•Hitler is a wolf that kills
people
•America should stop
him, even if he isn’t
killing Americans