The Benefits of Joining the Dr. Seuss™ & His Friends Book Club
No two moms are exactly alike, but most share a common goal: to provide the best for their children. Above and beyond the obvious basic needs—cribs, changing tables, strollers, clothing—proper guidance and support are essential to helping your little one achieve important developmental milestones. Formal education may not begin until preschool, but your child actually begins learning from the very first day he or she enters the world.
Encouraging your child to embrace the joys of reading is one of the most important things you can do to help ensure her academic success, social and communication skills, healthy expression of emotions, and cognitive development. Early reading has also been shown to foster better memory, concentration, and vocabulary skills later in life.
The Dr. Seuss and Friends Book Club was created to help parents build a library of insightful, entertaining books for their children to enjoy. While it’s certainly possible—and encouraged—to create your own family reading routine, joining a book club can offer an abundance of advantages to both parents and children.
Since the 1930s, Dr. Seuss has become synonymous with fun and imaginative childhood reading. His innovative, whimsical contributions to children’s literature are commemorated each year on his birthday, March 2nd, which has been designated as Read Across America Day.
By introducing Dr. Seuss’s familiar titles as a parent, you can re-experience the whimsical rhymes and fanciful illustrations of The Cat in the Hat and other favorites—this time through the eyes of your children. With today’s fast-paced, high-stress lifestyles, we all need to seek out opportunities to return to a more lighthearted, carefree time, and the Dr. Seuss online book club provides a unique opportunity to do so.
Reading is an excellent way for parents to form lasting bonds with their children. No matter what your kids’ ages, the very act of reading aloud is conducive to snuggling up close. As you turn the pages together and share images and storylines, you and your little ones will participate in a “give and take” as they react to your narration. A Dr. Seuss title is an ideal choice for family read-alongs, with the cheerful, silly verses sure to get kids laughing.
It’s never too early to introduce books to your little one—even newborns and infants can benefit from exposure to colors, shapes, textures, and faces. The bright colors and contrasts of Dr. Seuss books make them ideal for stimulating your baby and boosting sensory awareness. As a member of the Dr. Seuss online book club, every book you share with your baby serves as a building block for the vast information he’ll process over the months and years to come. Even if your little one doesn’t understand the actual words and sentences, the syllables you’re vocalizing will help form a foundation for the sounds he’ll use to form his initial vocabulary. As an added bonus, the sound of your voice will have a soothing, nurturing effect.
For today’s busy, multi-tasking families, books can provide a welcome respite in an otherwise chaotic day. By setting aside the time to read There’s a Wocket in My Pocket by Dr. Seuss, Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman, or another Dr. Seuss book before bedtime, you’ll be helping your children to relax and unwind, setting the stage for a restful night’s sleep. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers are comforted by repetition, so don’t be surprised if your little ones want to hear the same verses again and again as part of the routine.
Even with the thousands of educational toys on the market today, the benefits of books are unrivaled. Instead of stocking up on expensive electronic toys, video games, and DVDs for toddlers and preschoolers, begin building a Dr. Seuss book collection for your little ones. It’s an easy, cost-effective way to provide countless hours of entertainment, especially when you purchase Dr. Seuss books online. You can even appoint your child the “keeper” of her own library, assigning her the responsibility of keeping the books neatly organized and allowing her to choose the book to share for each reading session. If you have more than one child, encourage each one to build their own Dr. Seuss library; they can then swap and share books among themselves as they grow older.
Each title in our Dr. Seuss book club is hand-selected by experienced editors, ensuring that your child enjoys a relevant and rewarding reading experience.
One of Dr. Seuss’s most famous books, Green Eggs and Ham, was written in 1960 when his editor dared him to write an entire story using only 50 words. The fact that he succeeded brilliantly attests to the author’s boundless imagination. This revolutionary book singlehandedly changed the face of children’s literature, marking a move away from the rudimentary “Dick and Jane” books and toward the Whole Language style of writing.
The titles in the Dr. Seuss book list are best known for their lilting rhythms, zany Dr. Seuss characters, silly word play, and laughable tongue twisters, all of which will help boost the imaginations and critical thinking skills of the children who read them. The nonsensical aspect of the vocabulary used in his books is especially appealing to little ones, whose minds are more open to unconventional sounds and syllables. The club also includes titles by other well-known children’s writers—many of whom were friends and contemporaries of the “Doctor” himself—and meet Dr. Seuss’s early writing standards to craft engaging, imaginative tales that will delight kids and parents alike.
Anyone who has ever enjoyed Dr. Seuss stories can attest to the fact that they’re not designed to be read silently. The fun, rhythmic verses demand to be spoken aloud, shouted, or even sung—preferably with an audience. Reading a Dr. Seuss book to your little ones provides the perfect opportunity to cut loose, act silly, and put on your own little performance. When reciting the verses, infuse as much drama and inflection as possible to show your children how fun and interactive reading can be. And don’t be afraid to take the occasional detour—break from the story to comment on images, ask questions, or add your own silly verses. We think Dr. Seuss would approve!
Toddlers thrive on routine, often demanding to have the same book read to them over and over again. The very nature of the books of Dr. Seuss and his friends encourages repetition, with the same lighthearted phrases and verses appearing again and again. After “The End,” you can fully expect to hear “Again!”
With his dozens of children’s books selling more than 500 million copies worldwide, Dr. Seuss’s universally appealing writing style delights the young, the old, and everyone in between. By joining the Dr. Seuss & His Friends Book Club, you’re investing in a lifetime love of learning and reading for your children.