Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! by Dr. Seuss

*Picture book for preschool through adult
*The THINKS you can THINK as main characters
*Rating: My one-year-old daughter carries Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! around with her and looks at this book all the time. I’m sure it’s the pictures, but I’d love to think it’s the whole concept that she gets.

Short, short summary: Every now and again, I like to blog about a Dr. Seuss book. I know kids love to read them still and I know many teachers/home school parents/librarians who use them with kids. In this one, Dr. Seuss is celebrating all the excellent ideas our brains can come up with. He is writing about how wonderful imagination is and the sense of wonder that some kids have. Dr. Seuss does it in his special way with made-up creatures and silly rhymes, but that’s what makes this book even more special–it has that Dr. Seuss charm. Example: You can think about red. You can think about pink. You can think up a horse. Oh, the thinks you can think!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Ask students, “What are the THINKS you can THINK?” Ask them to make a list or draw a picture showing some things they are thinking about. They can be real (like soccer practice or a way to fix a problem with a friend) or make-believe (a new creature that people can have as a pet).

2. Read and discuss each page of the book during a second read through. What does it mean “you can think up a horse”? Why does Seuss want you to “think and wonder”? And so on. With students and children, you want to really talk up creativity and imagination!

3. It’s fun to discuss Dr. Seuss’s word choice and his made-up creatures. You can tie the word choice to a 6 + 1 traits lesson on word choice and discuss why the word choice works in this book (or maybe some students think it doesn’t). You can also discuss what some of the words mean such as: Da-Dake, Schlopp, and Guff.