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The Sneetches and Other Stories

4.31 of 5 stars 4.31 · rating details · 31,330 ratings · 507 reviews

Illus. in full color. "Four funny easy-to-read stories all with subtly planted moral lessons."--Publishers Weekly.

THE SNEETCHES
"Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches / Had bellies with stars. / The Plain-Belly Sneetches / Had none upon thars." This collection of four of Dr. Seuss's most winning stories begins with that unforgettable tale of the unfortunate Sneetches, bamboozled by...more

Paperback, 65 pages

Published May 1st 2003 by HarperCollins Publishers (first published 1961)

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Jan 15, 2012 Ronyell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Ronyell by: Readers Against Prejudice and Racism Club

Shelves: animal-books, best-books-of-2011, books-i-want-to-own, children-books, cult-classic, dr-seuss, drama, fantasy, favorites, goodreads-group-reads, humor-satire, picture-books, poetry, racism, read-in-2011, reviewed-books, ronyell-s-epinions-reviews, surreal, short-story-collection, my-blog-reviews

I was reading this book for the Readers Against Prejudice and Racism Club and it was fantastic!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

I have been reading many of Dr. Seuss’ books ever since I was a child, but out of all the books I have read from him, this book was the most effective book I have ever read! “The Sneetches and Other Stories” is a short collection of stories by Dr. Seuss where each of them detailed how to accept other people for who they are. “The Sneetches and Other Stories” is a...more I was reading this book for the Readers Against Prejudice and Racism Club and it was fantastic!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

I have been reading many of Dr. Seuss’ books ever since I was a child, but out of all the books I have read from him, this book was the most effective book I have ever read! “The Sneetches and Other Stories” is a short collection of stories by Dr. Seuss where each of them detailed how to accept other people for who they are. “The Sneetches and Other Stories” is a truly memorable book that displays some of Dr. Seuss’ best works!

Alright, not only will I talk about how I felt about this book, I will also discuss about the various themes in this book from my viewpoint on the situations. Dr. Seuss has certainly done a brilliant job at both illustrating and writing this memorable book about the importance of accepting other people for their different qualities and the consequences if we do not accept them for who they are. Let me discuss about my thoughts on the stories “The Sneetches” and “What was I scared of?” as they were my most favorite stories out of the entire book. In “The Sneetches,” it was obvious that this story was discussing about accepting other people’s differences, or in a more general sense:

RACISM AND PREJUDICE

The Star-Belly Sneetches believed themselves to be far more superior than the Plain-Belly Sneetches because they possessed qualities that the plain-belly sneetches did not possessed, which were the stars on their bellies. I am guessing that this story was relating to the extreme racism and prejudice going on during the 1960s at the time, since this book was written during the 60s. I really enjoyed this story because it seemed to have a solution at the end of the story, that it is pointless to see who is better than the other and it shows that no matter what your skin color (or in this case, whether you have a star on your belly or not) everyone is still a human being and we are all equal in every way. The other story I wanted to talk about is “What Was I Scared of?” and this story talks about how a young boy was scared of a “pair of pants” when walking through the night on an errand and what was so interesting about this story was that this story was about the fact that it expresses the whole “the person I am afraid of is just as scared of me as I am of him or her” situation. I really loved how the situation was handled at the end of the story and how becoming friends with a person you were once afraid of is the best solution in trying to connect with a person who is different from you. Dr. Seuss’s illustrations are just as creative in this book as they were in his other books! I just loved how the sneetches’ appearances in this book as they are shown as tall and yellow creatures who all look alike, except that some of them have blue stars on their bellies which indicates the differences between the Star-Belly Sneetches and the Plain-Belly Sneetches. I also loved in the story, “What Was I Scared of?” where the majority of the story is illustrated in blue colors, giving this story a spooky mood.

The only problem I had with this book was with the two stories, “The Zax” and “Too Many Daves.” I know that Dr. Seuss is well known for his nonsensical works, but I felt that “The Zax” and “Too Many Daves” were not as memorable as “The Sneetches” and “What Was I Scared Of?” since there was no real solution to the characters’ problems in those stories and they also kind of had abrupt endings that sort of left me feeling incomplete with the stories.

Before I give my final verdict on this book, I like to give my opinions on the issue of racism and prejudice. Personally, I think that racism and prejudice is pretty pointless in society and it will just make more people unhappy with the world and not accept other people for who they are. Does racism and prejudice exist even in today’s society? It definitely does and it is so sad because it seems that people who are against other cultures and races do not want to experience the cultures’ differences and I always think that everyone is equal, no matter what country, culture or race they are apart of. We are all human beings and we should try to learn to get along with other countries and races instead of fighting each other because of fear and hatred. This issue really affects me to the core and I would love to see more people try to get along with each other instead of despising each other for their differences. So, basically overall “The Sneetches and Other Stories” is a great children’s book to use to discuss racism and prejudice issues for young children and I think the more people read this book, the better they gain an understanding about how ugly racism and prejudice really is. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

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Dec 07, 2007 Doug rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Humans

Why 5 stars? Why rate a children's book? Because there is still prejudice in the world, that's why. If we got the world leaders together, and brainwashed them with this book, war would disappear. Segregation, discrimination, prejudice, sophistry, bias and artificial prominance would go away. In his unique way, Theodore Giesel points out the folly of judging anybody by physical characteristics, or any other inaccurate method.

Lessons learned from this book:

Whether we have stars or not, no matter t...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Julie (Mom2lnb) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of Fun Children's Books w/an Underlying Message

Recommended to Julie (Mom2lnb) by: Readers Against Prejudice & Racism

Shelves: childrens-fiction, desert-island-keepers, read-2011

Reviewed for THC Reviews
I've been a huge fan of Dr. Seuss since I was a child, but until I read The Lorax for the first time a few years ago, I had never realized that he was an author with the heart of an activist. Much like The Lorax, The Sneetches and Other Stories tackles mature themes in a non-threatening, even humorous, way that kids can understand. All four stories in the book have the underlying message of tolerance, acceptance and compromise with those who are different from us or with...more Reviewed for THC Reviews
I've been a huge fan of Dr. Seuss since I was a child, but until I read The Lorax for the first time a few years ago, I had never realized that he was an author with the heart of an activist. Much like The Lorax, The Sneetches and Other Stories tackles mature themes in a non-threatening, even humorous, way that kids can understand. All four stories in the book have the underlying message of tolerance, acceptance and compromise with those who are different from us or with whom we may not see eye to eye.

In The Sneetches, we have the story of how the Star-Belly Sneetches think they are better than the Plain-Belly Sneetches, and as a result, the Plain-Belly Sneetches are excluded from the Star-Belly Sneetches's activities. That is until Sylvester McMonkey McBean comes to town with his magical machine that adds or removes stars, creating utter chaos, and eventually rendering stars irrelevant. I really liked this story about how our differences don't really matter. The illustrations are cute, and I was especially moved by how incredibly sad the Plain-Belly Sneetches looked when they were being shut out.

In The Zax, we have two Zaxes who each have their own way of thinking and both absolutely refuse to alter their course. This leaves them at a stubborn impasse as the world goes on around them. I thought this was a great story about the importance of compromise.

Too Many Daves is about a mother who named all of her twenty-three sons Dave. I have to admit that I wasn't entirely certain of the meaning behind this one, but I think it was about how we are all the same and yet each one of us is also unique.

Last but not least, in What Was I Scared of? the cute, little, nameless protagonist is afraid of a pair of pants that walks around by itself, because it's so different than anything he's ever seen before. When he realizes that the pants are as scared of him as he is of them, the two are able to offer comfort to one another and become friends. I thought this was another great story about the importance of accepting those who are different from ourselves.

Overall, The Sneetches and Other Stories was an enjoyable book that managed to address some serious issues in a fun, easy to understand way. I highly recommend it for “kids” of all ages.(less)

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May 22, 2011 Brad rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children, to-my-kids

The Sneetches is my absolute favourite Seuss story. The rhythm trumps all other Seuss stories, and when I am reading this out loud to my kids I joyfully shift from Star-belly Sneetch voices to Plain-belly Sneetch voices to Sylvester McMonkey McBean's voice without even a hint of having to think about the shift. Seuss's rhythm invites that. I can speed up to warp, I can slow down and leave an octo-pregnant pause, and still the rhythm is flawless. Plus, the story's pretty meaningful too. This is t...more

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May 06, 2008 Missy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-for-the-kid-in-me

This is my favorite book to read to my kids. It has "Sneetches" that teaches that "No kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches." Then there's "The Zax" that teaches us how unproductive it is to never compromise. "Too Many Daves" - Scott and I talked about this one last night and how it is a fun little story, but doesn't have and underlying message. Then we decided that it does have a message. It's about making all of your kids feel special and letting them be different. Then there is "What Was...more

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Jun 10, 2013 Swankivy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Loved this as a kid--another one of Seuss's stories in which the moral is obvious but the storytelling has character and nuance. In "The Sneetches," some Sneetches naturally have stars on their bellies and others are born without them, which causes the star-bellied Sneetches to discriminate against the plain-bellied Sneetches. What's interesting is a scoundrel named Sylvester McMonkey McBean rolls into town and offers plain-bellied Sneetches a chance to get stars put on themselves, which of cour...more Loved this as a kid--another one of Seuss's stories in which the moral is obvious but the storytelling has character and nuance. In "The Sneetches," some Sneetches naturally have stars on their bellies and others are born without them, which causes the star-bellied Sneetches to discriminate against the plain-bellied Sneetches. What's interesting is a scoundrel named Sylvester McMonkey McBean rolls into town and offers plain-bellied Sneetches a chance to get stars put on themselves, which of course causes the naturally star-bellied Sneetches to feel that their specialness needs to be preserved and that the have-nots being turned into haves is upsetting to the natural order. So they also end up paying Sylvester McMonkey McBean to take their stars OFF, and so on--soon enough stars have no meaning and McBean is the big winner, and he departs basically laughing at them for letting him exploit them. Despite having fairly entrenched prejudice at the start of the story, they're able to see eye to eye after they were all kind of taken advantage of by an opportunistic businessman, and yay, Sneetch Racism Is Over. I sure wish it was that simple for humans.

There are a few other stories in the same book, and I liked them too even though their shortness meant there wasn't much development. "The Zax" was about stubborn creatures called Zax who are set in their ways regarding which direction they walk. Since when they finally meet after walking either north or south their whole lives, they refuse to move west or east to get out of each other's way and return to their walking, so the world has to go on around them and leave them standing there unwilling to budge. Interesting cautionary tale. Then we have "Too Many Daves" in which a woman names all her kids Dave. (I wondered as a kid what she would have done if she'd had any girls.) Of course, the most entertaining thing about this is that the mother realizes naming 23 sons Dave is a bad idea and suddenly comes up with a host of fabulous names they could have had. My practical kid brain suggested that the various Daves certainly would have developed nicknames naturally in this situation. But oh well. And "What Was I Scared Of?" was hilariously about a pair of pants. They are standing on their own and that scares the narrator until he realizes the pants are also scared of him. That's a pretty sophisticated look at the whole Fear Of Other phenomenon, in a kid-friendly way. (Because you have to admit, when an empty pair of sentient pants is outside your experience, you're going to be afraid of it unless you try to understand it.)(less)

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Jun 08, 2013 Chiix Moses rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: rhyming, social-emotional, dr-seuss

MY REVIEW
When it comes to teaching whilst rhyming Dr. Seuss was a genius, and The Sneetches is no exception. This book is an absolutely wonderful way to help children understand that even though people may look different, sound different, have different skin, or be different in any way, we are all people and all people deserve to be treated as such. I also quite adore how the book demonstrates that if one does choose to have prejudice against people it can be extremely time consuming, costly, an...more MY REVIEW
When it comes to teaching whilst rhyming Dr. Seuss was a genius, and The Sneetches is no exception. This book is an absolutely wonderful way to help children understand that even though people may look different, sound different, have different skin, or be different in any way, we are all people and all people deserve to be treated as such. I also quite adore how the book demonstrates that if one does choose to have prejudice against people it can be extremely time consuming, costly, and tiring. The book is chock full of new words for children to learn including "frightfully", "paraded", wondrous", "contraption", and "clambered". I like that this book uses many words that are outside of the norm. It encourages child to take hold of the English language, and to learn more and more words. I think that is is very important for children to be helped into learning different ways of using language early because it is a skill that they will need for the rest of their lives. As always, the illustrations in Dr. Seuss' books are amazing. They are majestically simple, whilst still being interesting and telling a story. In fact, in this story, I believe that the pictures are so good that one not even need to know how to read to be able to tell what happens in the story. This is a wonderful quality for a book to have because this means that children will be able to cherish the book long before they can even actually read the words. Finally, I think that this book is an extremely 'good read' because it does exactly what a book should. It entertains. This book is fun to read to young children, older children, and I know that I, at 20 years old, still very much enjoy listening to this story. What more could one ask for from a book?

LEARNING EXTENSION
Materials Needed
*Green Stars
*Tape or safety pins

1. After reading the book and discussing prejudice, the teacher will distribute stars to 1/2 the class and tape/pin the stars to their shirts.
2. During the first third of the day the children with stars will receive privileges over the children without. (Such as getting to choose their job's for the day first, getting first pick for books from the library, etc.)
3. After the first third of the day the children that have had green stars will switch with the children who have not had stars. The two groups of children should have/not have the stars for the same amount of time through the day.
4. During the final third of the day the children will remove their stars and hand them in to the teacher.
5. The children and the teacher will talk about how this experience made them feel. How did it feel when they had stars? How did it make them feel to be without stars? Do they think that is okay for people to be treated differently because of outward appearances? Discuss why it is important to treat everyone with respect.

Something Extra
I would like to share with you where the idea for this activity came from. We were shown this video in my Intro to Psychology class. It was an experiment in the 1970's with a 3rd grade class. It was very interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hqp6Gn...
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Mar 11, 2013 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: names, fear, picture-books, rhyming, race, stubborn

A collection of short stories.

The Sneetches- A story that explores racism using the Sneetch community who is divided between those who have stars upon their bellies and those who do not. When a traveling salesman comes to town the Sneetches are offered the chance to change their stars for the right price. When all their money is spent they are left standing mixed up on the beach, but this fact unites them and they finally embrace one another.

I have always been drawn to this story. It might be pe...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Cruth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-read-aloud-personal-challenge, picture-book, read-aloud

The Sneetches and Other Stories

Author / Illustrator: Dr. Seuss
First Published: 1961

Illustrated with Dr Seuss' trademark colour and joy, as well as his lyrical, rhythmic, rhyming narrative, Dr Seuss explores equality in four stories.

The Sneetches
Racial equality, bullying and conformity are explored as the Star-Belly Sneetches and Plain Belly Sneetches learn it isn't what you look like that matters,
The Zax
One person is not more important than the other. When the north-bound Zax meets the south-bou...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Tanvir Haque rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is appropriate for EYFS and Years 1 & 2; that is to say children aged 3-7. Wow! This is a great book of children’s literature. Having been my first book of Dr. Seuss, I didn’t know quite what to expect. Now I see what all the fuss is about! Simply a great piece of children’s fiction with a nice moral at the ending, The Sneetches is about a race of strange looking, yellow coloured creatures, with big fat bellies that live near water, on beaches. At the beginning of the story, some o...more This book is appropriate for EYFS and Years 1 & 2; that is to say children aged 3-7. Wow! This is a great book of children’s literature. Having been my first book of Dr. Seuss, I didn’t know quite what to expect. Now I see what all the fuss is about! Simply a great piece of children’s fiction with a nice moral at the ending, The Sneetches is about a race of strange looking, yellow coloured creatures, with big fat bellies that live near water, on beaches. At the beginning of the story, some of the Sneetches have stars on their bellies, and some of them don’t. The ones with stars on their tummies feel special and important and enjoy beach life, while the one’s without stars feel plain, boring and a little envious of the ones who do have stars. What are they to do?? When along comes a character by the name of Sylvester McMonkey McBean, driving up the beach to meet the Sneetches in a car…

The entire text of the story is in rhyme, though the rhyming pattern changes and varies throughout. The rhyming makes the story memorable and fun, engaging the children and motivating them to read it and remember the story. The fact that the rhyming pattern changes also keeps the metre varied and interesting. The accompanying pictures are basic but that is not a bad thing since it is sufficient to illustrate the characters and the story to your children.

The ending to the book is beautiful and concludes with a moral lesson making it a fabulous children’s story. However, there are a few minus points for using it in your classroom. Pupils might think Sneetches are real creatures, which is a minor detraction. A larger detraction is the fact that it includes words that are not in the English language, such as “thars” and “eaches” (used in the same way as “theirs” and “each”). Children may start adopting the word “thars” in their everyday language so you may have to explicitly tell them not to do so and that the correct word is “theirs.” That is the only reason I didn’t award this book 5 stars. Enjoy!
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Sep 02, 2012 Isaac rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Star-Belly Sneetches believe the tiny stars on their chests mean they are far superior to their Plain-Belly counterparts. They walk around with their heads held high, barely acknowledging the Plain-Belly Sneetches. But with the help of the crafty Sylvester McMonkey McBean the Plain-Belly Sneetches discover a way to even the score. Eventually all the Sneetches have to learn the hard way that appearance isn't quite as important as they first thought.

I have fond memories of reading this book as...more

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Jul 25, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-literature

Dr. Seuss is a genius. His made-up words are fun to say, his stories are short and easy to read, his pictures are funny and unique and each story has a lesson that both kids and adults can enjoy learning (or remembering). The Sneetches has always been a favorite of mine because it teaches children not to exclude someone else because of how they look. We are all the same on the inside. That is a beautiful message to send to kids. This book is even better because it has other stories! The Zax teac...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Luann rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, picture-books

I had read "The Sneetches" before, but not the other stories in this book. Clearly the Sneetches are the star here. (Ha! The pun was unintentional, but it did make me laugh when I noticed it.) The Sneetches is one of the Dr. Seuss stories I've used as a readers' theater for my library classes. I really like the lesson it teaches. The other stories are strange, end abruptly, and are not memorable at all - except maybe "What was I scared of?" which I think could have been the inspiration for The L ...more

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May 05, 2011 Kathy Davie rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a collection of four stories about silly superiorities, too stubborn for your own good, being lazy and not thinking ahead, and confronting your fears.

The Story
The Sneetches are divided. Some have green stars for belly buttons while others do not. Naturally, the Star-Belly Sneetches are far superior to the Plain-Belly Sneetches…until…one day…an enterprising Sneetch comes along and offers to help the Plain-Belly Sneetches by giving them stars on their bellies. Well, this just won't do. Ho...more

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Apr 21, 2009 Cindy Benabderrahman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everybody

Recommended to Cindy by: my mom

Shelves: books-4-children, edu-543-lit-4-children-project, picture-books, poetry

SUMMARY
This collection of short stories touches on themes like the value of diversity, the get-nowhere-fast of stalemates, the value of individuality, and confronting fears. There are two kinds of Sneetches in The Sneetches: those who have stars on their bellies, and those who do not. When a man comes along with a star-on / star-off machine, the Sneetches get all mixed up and the resolution is that all sneetches are equal. In The Zax, two Zaxes (a north-going one and a south-going one) meet, and...more

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Jul 16, 2012 BurningYourBooks rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: picture-books

True story! The Sneetches is actually about a real community and is set in an equally real place. You can even visit it if you come here on one of your vacations, that is, if you're the type who likes to wonder around a village market place where you can pick up authentic pieces from the great masters (Rodin or Monet - your choice!) and an organic black bean wrap without having to cross the street. Every day I make the delightful 20 minute by freeway journey from my old, delightfully comfy and c...more

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Mar 09, 2010 Josiah rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a very impressive book. In the various stories compiled in this one volume, Dr. Seuss addresses several points of social contention with a touch like that of the butterfly's wings, getting his point across with vivid clarity but not a hint of preachiness. The story of the Sneetches is a true classic, showing rather than telling the effects that elitism has not only on the people across the way from us who we look down on, but the effect it has on us, as well. When we begin to consider s...more This is a very impressive book. In the various stories compiled in this one volume, Dr. Seuss addresses several points of social contention with a touch like that of the butterfly's wings, getting his point across with vivid clarity but not a hint of preachiness. The story of the Sneetches is a true classic, showing rather than telling the effects that elitism has not only on the people across the way from us who we look down on, but the effect it has on us, as well. When we begin to consider someone else to be less than we are because of anything we have that they don't—wealth, status, a good family, or perhaps even a star on our bellies—the only result that can ultimately come is hurt. Maybe a little, maybe a lot, but the hurt is definitely coming.

The good thing about the zaniness of Dr. Seuess's writing style is that it allows for such important concepts to be introduced to kids at a very early age, giving them time to absorb the lessons as if by osmosis. When you've eagerly read all you're life that it's wrong for the Sneetches who "have stars upon thars" to think themselves superior to the others, then how can you bring yourself to look down on a person because of their race, fashion style, way of speaking, or...anything?

The last story in the book delivers a strong lesson about the impact of fear in one's life. One can either run from the cold reaches of that fear, as basest instinct would suggest, or accept the difficulty of staying, and deal with fear directly. Oftentimes, the things that we fear don't turn out to even be that bad, as is the case in this story with the empty pair of pants.

All in all, The Sneetches and Other Stories represents Dr. Seuss near the top of his game, I'd say, delivering important social lessons with his typical unending supply of grace. Grace wrapped in a lot of craziness, sure, but grace nonetheless. And who couldn't do with a little bit of craziness now and then?

I would give two and a half stars to The Sneetches and Other Stories. (less)

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Jan 29, 2013 Emma Weine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: einstein-recommends-for-kids, turns-children-into-readers, owned, my-kids-loved-it, if-you-want-your-children-to-be-int, will-make-your-kids-intelligent

The Sneetches is one of the few Dr Seuss books that I like enough to read to my kids. I like the message and his delivery of it to kids; it's hard to teach kids that we're all equal without it sounding like I'm giving 'another one of Mummy's boring long speeches', so I'm grateful for this clever little book. Seuss does a fabulous job of informing our kids that there's only one race - the human race - without them even realising it, and without patronising them and I find that subtlety like that...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Irish Tagamolila rated it 5 of 5 stars

What can I say about Sneetches and Other Stories? It’s one of my favorite books, and that’s including YA and adult books. I try to find excuses to read this book to kids AND adults. Sneetches is just one of those amazing stories showcases Dr. Seuss skill with words, but it addresses a universal idea in such a fun way. The moral is obvious for most, unless you’re too young, but it is not shoved down your throat. Those who are too young to understand the moral will still enjoy Dr. Seuss’ sing-song...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Mara Mccarthy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: text-set

The Sneetches and Other Stories, by Dr. Seuss, is a collection of four stories. The first one, The Sneetches, is about a group of creatures called Sneetches, some of which have green stars on their stomachs. At first, the Sneetches with stars look down upon those without stars. Sylvester McMonkey McBean starts selling stars to the Sneetches without stars with his new Star-on machine, but this poses a threat to the Sneetches with stars. They feel that their special status is becoming ordinary, so...more

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Mar 11, 2009 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I like how at first they aren't being nice to each other, but in the end they end up so messed up that they don't know who is who, forget about stars, start sharing, and from that time on he thinks that you can't teach a sneetch, but he's wrong. You can teach a sneetch.

One day there are two zax, a north going zax and a south going zax and they bump into each other. They start fighting. In the end they stay where they are and they don't budge. They build a highway over them.

Next, there are all th...more

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Nov 07, 2008 Jenn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: what-sam-is-reading

Sam reads this book, on average, twice a week. He loves how entrepreneurial that Sylvester McMonkey McBean is in exploiting those silly Sneetches bigotry. He also likes the ending when the Sneetches learn to be nice to each other.

Sam also likes the story of "Too Many Daves" and often uses the alternate name suggestions for nicknames for his brother. A favorite is Oliver Boliver Butt.

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Mar 04, 2013 Sauda Abdullah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-literature-text-set

The Sneetches is a fictional book written by Dr. Seuss. The main idea of this story is racism, presented in a non-traditional way. The Star-Bellied Sneetches represent the group that looks down on others, while the Plain-Bellied Sneetches are trying to be like the Star-Bellied Sneetches. The main characters are the Star-Bellied Sneetches, the Plain-Bellied Sneetches, and Sylvester McMonkey McBean. I would use this text in a classroom to help my students recognize rhyming words. The student would...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Keri Lamle rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: any age

The Sneetch and Other Stories is a Dr. Suess book that was a "night before 1st day of school" tradition in our house for many years. The other stories "The Zax", "Too Many Daves", and "What was I Afraid of?" are all fun stories but I must admit "The Sneetches" was my person favorite and the reason for the tradition.
Just like "The Night Before Christmas" tells a tale of start of Christmas, The Sneetches teaches us the value of personal choice. When I 1st read this book to the children as preschoo...more

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May 15, 2010 Connie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ah, Sneetches.

This book comes with four Seuss stories. It is a mark of the man's skill that he was able to write a clear moral for each of them without being too preachy. (He didn't always succeed at this, which is why I refuse to buy a copy of the Lorax, but when he got it right he was SO right.)

The first story, Sneetches, is a pretty clear moral about discrimination. The ones with stars and the ones with "none upon thars" run back and forth and back and forth trying to have the right number of...more

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Feb 23, 2010 Shelley rated it 5 of 5 stars

"The Sneetches" is perhaps my all-time favorite Dr. Seuss story. What a subtle way to teach children that racism and sexism and any of those "isms" are wrong. Dr. Seuss was a genius!

I am also a big fan of "Too Many Daves". It's just too funny!

I have loved these stories (and almost all of Dr. Seuss' books) since I was very small. I remember checking out the maximum number of books allowed - 8 at the time - and all of them were Dr. Seuss books. I was probably 6 or 7 years old at the time. I love...more

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Dec 29, 2007 Skylar Burris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens

"The Sneetches" teaches the positive virtue of tolerance in a way that doesn't make me want to stick my fingers down my throat, and given the state of most of today's overly didactic, moralistic children's literature, that's a real accomplishment.

And it rhymes.

And my daughter absolutely loves it.

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Apr 15, 2013 Chester Richmond rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dr-seuss, young-children-s-books, notable-art

The Sneetches teach the important lesson of including others. In the community of the sneetches there are some sneetches that have stars on their bellies. This makes them special and allows them to do things that the normal sneetches are unable to do. The star bellied sneetches are convinced they are better and treat the normal sneetches poorly and bully them. In the end we realize that any sneetch can accomplish anything and you are not limited by how you look.

This book deals with the issues of...more

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Oct 12, 2012 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-for-children-up-to-grade-3

Now, THIS is outstanding work for a child who must survive among peers who are not always kind. Look at the message! (I once read this to a classroom full of 5th graders who had some mean-girl stuff going on).

This wonderful book is generally for younger children, but it can be used for anybody who needs to hear it (or who wants to read every single Dr. Seuss book, as I did as a child!). A nice feature: because these are all make-believe creatures, ethnicity is not an issue. Early books for chil...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: social-justice-text-set

Dr. Seuss' "The Sneetches" is a book ahead of its time. It tells a story about a group of animals called the Sneetches. Some have stars on their bellies while others don't, but as soon as Sylvester McMonkey McBean told the Sneetches without stars on their bellies that he could put "stars upon thars" the animals began to pay for their modifications. As soon as McBean would say something was better the Sneetches would pay for that change and the cycle continued until of the Sneetches couldn't tell...more

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About Dr. Seuss

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, MA. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both carto...more Theodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, MA. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for them. Additionally, he was submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty. In some of his works, he'd made reference to an insecticide called Flit. These references gained notice, and led to a contract to draw comic ads for Flit. This association lasted 17 years, gained him national exposure, and coined the catchphrase "Quick, Henry, the Flit!"

In 1936 on the way to a vaction in Europe, listening to the rhythm of the ship's engines, he came up with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly rejected by the first 43 publishers he showed it to. Eventually in 1937 a friend published the book for him, and it went on to at least moderate success.

During WW II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and do documentaries (he won Oscar's for Hitler Lives and Design for Death). He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which also won him an Oscar.

In May of 1954, Life published a report concerning illiteracy among school children. The report said, among other things, that children were having trouble to read because their books were boring. This inspired Geisel's publisher, and prompted him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important, asked him to cut the list to 250 words (the publishers idea of how many words at one time a first grader could absorb), and write a book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him published The Cat in the Hat, which went on to instant success.

In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham. Cerf never paid the $50 from the bet.

Helen Palmer Geisel died in 1967. Theodor Geisel married Audrey Stone Diamond in 1968. Theodor Seuss Geisel died 24 September 1991.

Also worked under the pen name:
Theo Le Sieg (less)

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“I said, "I do not fear those pants with nobody inside them." I said, and said, and said those words. I said them but I lied them. ” — 131 people liked it

“Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches had bellies with stars. The Plain-Belly Sneetches had none upon thars.” — 17 people liked it

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