He Can Kiss Like a Goldfish!? (Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? - Dr. Seuss)

Member Name: shroud

Product:	Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? - Dr. Seuss
Date:	26/07/07 (130 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Children learn sounds, strong use of phonics, very entertaining

Disadvantages: The again again factor means you should buy more Seuss to avoid burnout!

For those unfamiliar with the author, Dr. Seuss was the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel of Massachusetts, USA and La Jolla, California, USA. He is most famous as the creator of the Cat in the Hat and the Grinch, which he created for his early reader series. The books he wrote are geared to help children learn to read as well as to entertain. Many homeschooling families in the USA use his books for early reading primers, so beloved and well designed are they, and they are also widely used as supporting readers in schools around the world. If you want to learn more about Dr. Seuss, you can visit http://www.catinthehat.org/ or read my review on his book Green Eggs and Ham :)

Mr. Brown can Moo!! is a lovely book for toddlers and preschoolers, as well as children of Reception age who are just learning to read.. We found the board book edition of this book at our local library, with a rrp is £3.99 for this edition. This particular book is all about Mr. Brown, who appears in later books as well, and the wonderful sounds he can make. He can moo like a cow, clip clop like a horse, sound like thunder, kiss like a goldfish, and more. It challenges young children to try to make the noises, and by doing so, they learn by accident the sounds everyday things and animals make. It is a wonderful introduction to young beginning readers as well, as they get introduced to the concept of onamatapoeia and the vocabulary itself is geared toward beginning readers with a strong phonics leaning.


The illustrations are typical Seuss in their zaniness. Mr Brown wears a quite improbable hat, and has a very kindly face. The illustrations are clearly designed to appeal to the whimsy in children, as well as to underscore the levity of the text. Pictorial clues abound for the beginning reader as well, lending a helping hand to the child who may otherwise struggle. Make no mistake about it, as part of the early reader set of books, this funny story practically guarantees stand alone reading success, and pre readers will be picking out the words in no time themselves.

It is a book that causes big giggles and lots of noise making, so I would not read it as a bedtime story, but is loads of fun for together time. I made the mistake of first reading this at bedtime to my then two year old daughter, and she got so rambunctious over the noises and funny pictures, I had to calm her down again with another infant massage! The other downside is it is so entertaining to young children, they want you to read the rhyming story again, and again, and again one time after another. Having said that, it is a great introduction to just how fun reading books can be and this is definitely a book that is short and entertaining enough that even my bouncy young son happily sat and listened to it without running off to go vrooming his toy tractor about.


We liked this book so much that in addition to the few Seuss books I knew from childhood, we began adding every book he ever wrote onto our daughter's book shelf. We started with the board book edition of this book as she liked to "read" it herself, and the small chunky book was perfect for her small hands. The pages wipe clean fairly easily and seem laminated with a bit of something that makes them slightly glossy. Whatever it is, it let me wipe biscuit sticky off LOL. The book is also available in laminated hardback, and paperback, so its worth a look about to locate a copy. The RRP of those editions runs about £4.99.

Summary: Mr Brown is back in town, and he can moo.....can you?