senior research project. about dr. seuss your project the lorax the kings stilts and to think i saw...

Senior Research Project

About Dr. Seuss

Your project

The Lorax

The King’s Stilts

And To Think I Saw It On Mullberry Street.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck

I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew

Yertle the Turtle

Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose

Would you rather be a Bullfrog

The Sneetches

Oh, The Places You’ll Go

Gerald McBoing Boing

If I ran the circus

Horton Hatches the Egg

Please Try to Remember the First of Octember

Oh The Thinks You Can Think

The Butter Battle Book

About Dr. SeussYour project Home

The LoraxBartholomew and The Oobleck The King’s Stilts

And To Think I Saw It on Mullberry Street

Would You Rather be a Bullfrog

The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus

Please Try To Remember The First of Octember

Oh, The Thinks You Can Think

Horton Hatches The Egg

Gerald McBoing Boing I Had Trouble In Getting to Solla Sollew

About Dr. Seuss


Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose

Theodor Seuss Geisel (pen name Dr. Seuss) is perhaps the most influential children’s book writer since Aesop or the Grimm brothers. His children books have proven themselves as timeless works that continue to appeal to the masses of young and influential minds.

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904, Seuss drew much of the inspiration for his books from his childhood home and memories. Whimsical rhymes about babbling streams, quaint streets and magical forests are frequently mentioned in Seuss’ rhymes.

Like Picasso, Seuss spent years perfecting the silliness of his extensive collection. He graduated from Dartmouth College, and began a degree at Oxford shortly after completing his undergraduate degree. He was a highly intelligent man, but his personality was rooted in sarcasm, recklessness and humor. In short, he was a rebel and a rule breaker.

Seuss got fired as an editorial writer at Dartmouth College for throwing a drinking party during the prohibition. Later, instead of completing a degree at Oxford, Seuss decided to tour Europe.

Before becoming a children’s book author, Seuss worked as a political cartoonist during WWII, specifically targeting the Third Reich and Nazi Germany.

Seuss passed away in 1991 at the age of 87. He published 44 books in 15 different languages, leaving a legacy that will not soon be forgotten. More than 200 million copies of his books have been published, and his works have yielded 11 television series. At the

very least, Dr. Seuss is a name to be remembered in children’s literature.





The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus






About Your Project


Learning objective: You will be able to relate a culturally relevant issue to a book by a familiar and well known author.

What to do: This PowerPoint is interactive. Each of the titles above are hot links that will bring you to a synopsis of the book and suggestions for your paper topic. You will choose one of the books on this list to write a research paper on. You may use one of the suggested research topics or propose your own to me. Your topic must relate to the Dr. Seuss book you choose, and must be something that can be researched using electronic and textual resources.

Your Guidelines:

-A 3-5 page typed research paper, written in proper MLA format.

-12 point font, Times New Roman, double spaced, 1” margins.

-A complete and accurate works cited page (use Purdue OWL!)

-Four sources, one of which must be the Dr. Seuss book you choose. Two of the remaining sources must be in print. The third may be an electronic source, but you may not use Wikipedia as an official source.

-Each of the sources you choose must be explicitly or implicitly cited at least two times each (meaning you will either use direct quotes, or refer to a specific aspect of your source).

-You must have a clear thesis that is making a point.

-Have fun! The point of this assignment is to explore something you are genuinely interested in.





The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus








Oh, the Thinks You Can Think is a story of possibilities. It illustrates the unusual and the possible and the almost unbelievable. It encourages imagination and a strong sense of independent thinking.

Possible paper topics:

Who do you think the most influential inventor in history was? In what way does this book relate to them?

Do you think there is a social stigma toward people who think differently than the mass majority? In what way? Write a paper on one historical example of this.





The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





The SneetchesThidwick The Big-Hearted Moose


The Sneetches are a particular type. Some have stars on their bellies, while some do not. If a sneetch is unfortunate enough to be born without a star, he is terribly discriminated against, until a fix-it-all man comes along and offers to make them all exactly the same.


This Dr. Seuss book is openly alluding to the Holocaust and Nazi Germany. Write a paper addressing the discrimination that lead to the Holocaust as it relates to this book.

There are a number of short stories that are with The Sneetches. Use one of these stories to address an historical time of discrimination, such as the women’s suffrage movement or the civil rights movement.





The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus








A young boy named Marco lets his imagination run wild as he walks down Mullberry street. He sees fanciful cars, marching bands, animal parades and so much more. But when his father asks him what he saw on Mullberry street, he decides just to tell the boring old truth.


What is imagination? How do different cultures view imagination and make-believe?

Do you believe that discouraging young children from role-playing and make-believing is a form of oppression?





The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





Little Morris McGurk is a dreamer. In the empty lot behind Mr. Sneelock’s story, Morris dreams up a fanciful circus that is over the top and crazy. Little does Mr. Sneelock know, his part Morris’ brainchild is absolutely imperative.

Possible paper topics:What is a manageable goal? It is often thought that the current political campaigns promise things they cannot fulfill, and much like Mr. Sneelock in this story, the citizens are left in the dark. Do you agree? Focus on one political campaign in the last 50 years to support your argument.

Write about one historical event that went haywire because of it’s grandeur and over-zealousness. One example of this may be Woodstock.

If I ran the CircusThidwick The Big-Hearted Moose






The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





Horton Hatches The EggThidwick The Big-Hearted Moose


When Mayzie (a lazy bird) convinces Horton the elephant to sit on her egg for her, Horton is put to the test. Mayzie never returns, and Horton is exposed to extreme elements and harsh ridicule from the other jungle animals. Will Horton get to keep the little egg, or will things become to complicated?


Child abandonment is a very real issue world wide. Orphanages are short-staffed and under-prepared for these children. Write a paper focusing on one area in the world and how they address orphans.

Historically, a nuclear family has been a mother, a father and their children. In an ever evolving world, do you think this is typical? Write a paper about the evolving

views of family in America.





The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





What do you give a child who has everything? This book! It’s all about saying no. Our young character asks

and asks and asks for things that our out of reach. He gets to have everything on the first of Octember.

Possible paper topic:Consumerism is a hot topic in the United States today. What does consumerism look like in the United

States? Do you think the United States is on the extreme path of consumerism?

Please Try To Remember The First Of Octember







The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





This is not a Dr. Seuss book. It is a book adaptation of a short film that Dr. Seuss created. Gerald McCloy is a young boy who learned to speak in sounds instead of words. His difference in speech angers his father and makes him the center of ridicule at school. Even his teacher won’t let him stay in class. What does the future hold for Gerald McCloy?

Possible paper topic:Speech impediments and other noticeable differences in young people have often been highly stigmatized historically. In your paper, address one person, disorder or event in history that manifest the discrimination that Gerald experienced in this book. Examples may be a famous sanatorium and the treatment those patience endured, Sylvia

Plath, Helen Keller, etc.

Gerald McBoing BoingThidwick The Big-Hearted Moose






The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





I Had Trouble Getting to Solla SollewThidwick The Big-Hearted Moose


This book is one of great adventure and great peril. The main character goes on a journey to Solla Sollewn when someone tells him there is never unhappiness there Along the way encounters pinching and biting animals, difficult terrain, and people who try to keep him from completing his journey.

Possible paper topic:Throughout history, and in current times, there are many cultures who have experienced extreme oppression, to the point that many people have fled the country. Focus on one of these cultures, and discuss what it means for a family that left the country to live in a different location, and what it means for those who chose to stay. Take a critical standpoint on modern day immigration. Be sure to use

academic sources and this book to support your argument.





The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





Oh, The Places You’ll GoThidwick The Big-Hearted Moose


This book is full of possibilities and encouragement. This is Seuss’ ode to the next generation of youth, and is full of all of the things youth has accomplished so far and can accomplish in the future. It leaves readers with the strong message, “Kid, you’ll move mountains!”


Choose one influential historical figure (you can choose someone in American history, or world history). Do an in depth case study of the struggles and triumphs of this person’s life. Then, discuss the impact this person has had on our world.

Consider this statement: the success of a child relies heavily on support of an older mentor. Do you agree? Research the effects an adult supporter can have in a young persons life.





The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





Yertle the turtle, king of the pond, is never happy with the stones on which he sits. He feels they are not high enough to be his thrown. Everything he sees is his kingdom, so to expand

his kingdom and see more, Yertle commands the other turtles of the pond to stack on top of one another, so that he can stand upon them. How high can the pile get before his pupils become fed up?

Possible paper topics:Dr. Seuss openly related Yertle in this book to Adolph Hitler. Use this book to write a research paper on the ways in which Adolf Hitler rose to and fell from paper

during WWII.

Corporate America is often said to be a mean and brutal game. Write a paper, using this book as support, studying one entrepreneur who climbed the corporate ladder and what he or she did to get to the top. Ex—Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, etc.

Yertle The TurtleThidwick The Big-Hearted Moose






The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





Bartholomew and The Oobleck



King Didd wants a change in the weather. When it rains it’s always too rainy, when it shines, it’s always too hot. Nothing will please him until the royal wizards offer up a new kind of weather: oobleck. It’s not until it’s too late that the king realizes his horrible mistake as the oobleck begins to destroy the town. Bartholomew is the one to save the day.

Possible paper topic:

This book is filled with catastrophe once the oobleck arrives. Similar to the devastation that was caused by hurricane Katrina, the 2007 tsunami or crippling wild fires. Choose one major natural disaster in history and write your paper on the effects it has had on culture, on history books, and on people.





The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





This book is a charming, “bright eyed and early” book that poses series of choices for young kids. “Would you rather be a clarinet? A trombone? Or a drum?” Though there is not clear plot to the story, the questions are cute, farfetched, and funny.

Possible paper topics:It’s often been said that there are two types of people in this world: those who are jerks and those who are not. We often here that prase: “There are two types of people in this world,” and it’s always accompanied by two opposites (ex- those who ski and those who don’t. Those who can take a joke, and those who can’t.) Do you agree? Are there really only two

options when putting people into categories? Use Would You Rather be a Bullfrog to write a paper on ultimatums (eg—you are either this, or this). Do you think society is designed to follow ultimatums? Do you think it’s human nature?








The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





The lorax is the funniest of creatures: hairy and short and stout. But he speaks for the trees. When the Once-ler comes along and discovers the beautiful truffula trees, he begins to chop them down and creates a lucrative industry knitting the

truffula tree fluff into a fancy contraction. What will be the fate of the truffula trees and the beautiful creatures that depend on.

Possible paper topics: Climate change has become one of the hottest topics in popular news culture today. Write a paper identifying one major area in the world that has been affected by deforestation or climate change.

Using The Lorax as an example, discuss one failed business model in the 20th or 21 century in the United States. Why did the business fail? Was it related to exhaustion of resources? What happened to the business’ working class? What happened to its CEOs and higher-up employees? One very prominent example is Enron.

The LoraxThidwick The Big-Hearted Moose






The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





The King’s Stilts is one of the only books written by Dr. Seuss that was written in prose, rather than verse (meaning it’s not written like a poem). King Betram rules a kingdom that requires a delicate balance of power and commitment. In his free time, the king likes to gallivants around on red stilts. One day, the stilts are stolen and the king falls into a deep depression. What perils will the town meet after the king’s stilts go missing?

Possible paper topics:This books is written using a technique called causal variable (because this happened, it caused this thing to happened, which caused this thing to happen, etc). Write a paper discussing a major world event using causal variables. For instance, because three men went on a mission trip to Uganda in 2003, the organization Invisible Children created a video on YouTube, which became viral, which caused the campaign to become a huge topic of discussion which etc.… Be sure to take a stance on the issue you choose.

Iran is notorious for being involved in war. One of the reasons for this is because of the rich natural resources it has, and because of how accessible the country is due to it’s landscape. Using The Kings Stilts to support your argument, discuss why you feel Iran is so vulnerable.

The King’s StiltsThidwick The Big-Hearted Moose






The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





The Butter Battle Book is about two warring cultures, the Yooks and the Zooks. The warring is rooted in whether it’s proper to eat your toast with the butter side of or the butter side down. The land has become so divided between the Yooks and the Zooks, that they have built an enormous zigzagging wall between them. Eventually, a war breaks out, and a race for the better defense wins. Possible Paper Topics: The Berlin wall is an historical landmark for many people worldwide. Write a paper discussing the conflict between East and West Berlin, and what eventually happened to lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The nuclear arms race was a very scary and very prevalent theme during the Cold War. Write a paper discussing what the nuclear arms race was, and why it was such a frightening time.








The Sneetches

Yertle The Turtle


If I Ran The Circus





Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose is a great tale about giving and giving too much. Thidwick is a moose with gigantic antlers that lives in a heard of 60 or more other moose. Even when food is scarce, Thidwick always offers his share of food to others. He lets little creatures dwell in his antlers, including a bug and 365 bees and a bobcat. When his

hospitality causes him to become completely bogged down, Thidwick tries desperately to escape the antlers that have become his prison.

Possible paper topics:Write a paper discussing one culturally renowned figure in history such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, or Martin Luther King, Jr. Do some research on their philosophy on generosity, and how they made an impact in today’s culture.

There are a number of government programs that are under fire for attracting “free-loaders.” One such program is welfare. Do you agree with this statement? Write a paper discussing how welfare originated in the United States, and what sort of impacts it has had on the United States.

Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose



senior research project. about dr. seuss your project the lorax the kings stilts and to think i saw...

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seuss book

seuss rhymes

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seussyour project home

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