Although the beautifully shaded watercolor illustrations differ from the familiar pen-and-ink line with flat color fill style of other Dr. Seuss classics, McElligot's Pool with its simple message of hope, was a 1947 Caldecott Honor Book. In it we meet young Marco. As he sits fishing at McElligot’s pool, a farmer informs the boy that he’ll never catch anything there. But Marco has faith: The pool might connect to an underground river that leads to the sea, opening up an ocean of possibilities—it may and it might! Through Marco’s imagination we see an unbelievable collection of fish—and are given the chance to believe in the power of possibility in McElligot's Pool.

Tie-in Activity: Make a paper-plate fish. Cut a small wedge shape from a paper plate to form the fish’s mouth for a younger child (or draw dashed lines to encourage scissor skills for an older child). Tape the point of the cut-out wedge to the opposite side of the plate to make the tail. Then let your child decorate the fish with paint, crayons, or glitter glue.