Some people just won't take the hint when it's time to go to bed, but Marvin K. Mooney eventually gets the message!
By combing the funniest stories, craziest creatures and zaniest pictures with his unique blend of rhyme, rhythm and repetition, Dr. Seuss helps children of all ages and abilities learn to read.
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. 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 vacation 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 World War 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.
Another delightful Dr Seuss marvel. A simple instruction to a guest who has outstayed his welcome is put into the wonderful poetry unique to Dr Seuss, that is a delight to children around the world, as well as to adults who are young at heart. Dr Seuss introduces some of the marvelous technological inventions of his world, such as a Zike-Bike, a Crunk-Car, a Zumble-Zay, a Bumble-Boat and a Gazoom. It is a great way of teaching children reading and language, and as �go� is one of the first words children learn to recognize, this teaches the meanings in a really fun way.
Being several books behind on my reading goal and not having an abundance of time to read has made me, an advanced reader from a young age, seek out literature such as this in desperation.
This was a childhood favorite of mine, according to my mom; however, the e-book version of this was poorly done, as some of the pages were clipped. (I read this on the Libby app; you may have a different experience if you got the e-book elsewhere.)
Not the best Seuss out there. Tried to read this to my daughter last month, but she kept trying to shut the book. As another reviewer mentioned, the whole 'story' seems a little rude and pointless.
However, I have to admit that there are a few kids in my neighborhood who have that Marvin K. Mooney feel to them. There is this one kid that I literally have to force out of my house! Gah! Is it so wrong of me to expect other parents to eventually come get their kid?! Set a time limit people! How would you like it if I let my kids stay at your house all day long? Not very much, I'm willing to bet. Also, if it wouldn't kill you, would it be possible for you to teach your child some manners? Please and Thank You would be nice. And perhaps letting your little angel know that raiding someone's refrigerator without asking, and then complaining about the contents could possibly be construed as a teensy bit annoying. Hmmm? Whatcha think?
Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! by Dr. Seuss was published a year before I was born. I probably had it read to me but beyond the funny dog eared Marvin and the pointing fingers on the cover, that's all I remember from those early years. I'm now reading it to my children.
Like Cat in the Hat, Marvin K. Mooney.. uses a limited vocabulary and a rhyming scheme to be easy but fun to read. The book is full of intense emotion and lots of shouting which lends itself to overly theatrical performances when read out loud. The escalating demands put on Marvin to leave reminds me of The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog by Mo Willems (or almost any of his his pigeon books).
Marvin K. Mooney... was written in the same year that the Watergate scandal broke. Although the book wasn't written about Nixon, it did lend itself perfectly to the situation. Heck, now it could be re-titled George W. Bush Will Please Go Now! just as easily. The Washington Post has the rewritten version on line and it's worth a read.
Not gonna lie, just watched this book get rapped on TikTok. Love Dr. Seuss and it was both hilarious and awesome to hear his writing via random rap. The internet can be crazy and magical, my friends.
My son is at a building-vocabulary age: he points at objects, grunting inarticulately and looking expectantly at the nearest adult. If the name isn't too complex he'll repeat it back to you in mangled form. Dr. Seuss books tend to the problematic as far as this noble pursuit goes. They're filled with weird things not normally found in the real world, forcing me to either feed my son's tender, melonlike head with nonsense and hope that what I put in there will never, ever backfire ("Yes, son, that there is a Crunk-Car. Looks like fun, doesn't it? We have one in the basement. No, you may not go down there and play with it."), or try to brush it off and focus on the lion or skis or whatever relatively boring thing is on the next page.
Oddly, I seem to recall having the same weird discussion with my father when I was somewhat older, pestering him with A) What is a Crunk-Car really?, B) Why don't we see them around?, and C) Who should I talk to in order to rectify that situation?
I've had this book for years, but just recently re-read it. It was great as a kid, but as an adult it's not for as great as I remember. One of the reasons I so love Dr. Seuss is because his books are funny, silly, zany - and they sometimes make a really good point in such a sneaky way that kids don't even really realize they are learning to be better by being like Yertle the Turtle or Horton. This one - not so much. No real point to it, which is fine, but the yelling at the character Marvin to GET OUT, well, it seemed a little rude, lol. I still love all the crazy inventions and of course the creative word use, but not his best by far. I do want a Crunk Car, if anyone knows where I can get one?
The time has come and Marvin K. Mooney is told to ‘go now!’. He can go by foot or by hat, by Zike-Bike or Zumble-Zay, no one cares how as long as he gets! Soon Marvin K. Mooney got the message and went.
Written in the classic Dr.Suess style, ‘Marvin K. Mooney will you please go now!’ is fun, quirky and creative. The images are vibrant and imaginative. This book would be a great source for teaching reading skills to KS1 and EAL pupils as its poetic style provides a strong utensil for teaching rhyming and phonetic sounds. Lastly, it is not known why Marvin K. Mooney is asked to go, however as a guided reading book this book, it could provide some fun and interesting work for a pupil to delve into the possibility as to why Marvin K. Mooney should go.
People are always shocked when I say I haven't read Green Eggs and Ham. Instead, I read this one. It is the same kind of set up where Marvin is asked to go away all different ways that rhyme. I used to read this at my doctor's office.
I was just reading a review of Yertle the Turtle (which is one I"m not sure I read), and it said that this is about Nixon! Wow, I need to read this as an adult!
I'm conflicted about this one because it might be teaching children to be rude to visitors, as I don't think kids really know the difference between staying over your welcome, and maybe needing a place to stay? it's funny in the ways it tells this visitor to just leave, but maybe not the best message for children?
"you can go by foot. you can go by cow. Marvin K. Mooney, will you please go now?"
I remember very little of my early childhood, but for some reason, I remember this book. It is a classic. I love it, and I love almost everything Dr. Seuss produced.
He’s Overstayed His Welcome 13 February 2020 - Edithburg
It clearly seems as if Marvin has overstayed his welcome because the entire book is about the author pleading for him to leave. Just as in typical Dr Seuss fashion, we have wonderful rhymes, and some rather interesting methods of travelling, such as the Zika Bike (which I believe has nothing to do with the virus of the same name). Yeah, it really seems as if Marvin has certainly overstayed his welcome.
Mind you, I can certainly appreciate where the author is coming from because, well, I have been in Marvin’s position, namely that after a very long engagement party I ended up at the hotel room and, well, I was pretty wasted and it was probably time for me to leave, but for some reason, I hadn’t realised that this was the case, much to the host’s disgust. Then again, up until that time I have never been in a fancy hotel, nor seen a fancy hotel room, so yeah, I wanted to check it out.
Things have changed quite a lot since those days when I partied hard and would wake up in the morning completely smashed with a hangover that I simply could not get over. Mind you, I’m not entirely sure why Marvin was visiting the author, or how long he had been there, but I have to admit that I can also sympathise with the author. You see, these days I do tend to really appreciate my alone time, and as such having people over can be a bit stressful, which is why I basically don’t let anybody know where I live.
Yeah, I did know a person that really didn’t understand the concept of personal space. In fact, he was one of those people whom would get upset if you didn’t answer the phone when he rang you (and he would ring you at least twice a day). At first I wanted to be friendly, considering that a number of ‘Christian’ friends of mine would only befriend him (and others like him) when they were at church, which meant that if they weren’t at church they didn’t want to know them. I sort of understand why now, but that is the catch – because none of these so called friends of mine were willing to associate with him outside of church meant that only, well, me, ended up associating with him. Then again, after a while, I did come to understand their position, though of course if we all worked together then no doubt it would have been better for all involved.
Anyway, this is a pretty cool book, and it is certainly an easy read, with Dr Suess’ characteristic poetic voice. Yeah, while it is a kid’s book, the fact that the poetry is so cool really does raise it above many of the other books that I have read.
This is typical Dr. Seuss. It is about the need for Marvin K. Mooney to “go away”. Moreover the book describes all of the different ways Marvin could do just that. This book uses a very bright color scheme; it is very reflective of the silly nature of the book. It is short but can help challenge and expand vocabulary as well as a child’s ability to read out loud. It also teaches the basics of rhyming. It is for all these reasons that I would use this book in my classroom. Challenging vocabulary, expanding the ability to read out loud, and establishing the ability to understand and use rhyme in storytelling.
Another great Dr. Seuss. My 5 yr old reads this level 1 reading book to his younger brothers and loves the rhyming. While my 3 yr old twins love repeating the strict admonishment for Marvin to leave! The pictures are always fun and spark innovation for new creations such as Ga-Zoom made out of Legos. A big favorite in our house.
One of my husband's favorites to read to our kids. They knew all the lines by heart and could fill in the verse. Alwyas wondered what Marvin did that warranted the wish for him to leave.
The art and rhymes are cute, but my 7yo got sincerely frustrated when we got to the end and it never said why the narrator wants him to leave so badly.
The time has come. The time is now. Just go. Go. GO! I don't care how.
You can go by foot. You can go by cow. Marvin K. Mooney will you please go now!
Meh. Not sure I would necessarily recommend this book to be read by kids - it's pretty rude and angry actually (what did Marvin do to deserve this kind of treatment?!). And the rhymes weren't that great (you can't rhyme bike with Zike-Bike. That's cheating).
Summary: This book is about a character named Marvin who does not want to go where he has to go! He starts off having a bad attitude about it and refusing to go but then decides to make it fun. Very cute book!
Evaluation: I would recommend this book to early readers in kindergarten and first grade as it is an easy, fun read that students enjoy!
Teaching: I could use this book in an english class when discussing repetition as it repeats the same words very often. As we are reading, I could have students take notes when they hear repetition and then share as a class what the students heard.
In this classic Dr. Seuss tale, it’s time for Marvin K. Mooney to go to bed… but will he get the message? Some people just won’t take the hint when it’s time to go to bed, and Marvin K. Mooney is one of them… This fun tale by Dr. Seuss will delight young readers and remind them that they sometimes have to do what they are told… Dr. Seuss has always been welcome in every reader’s home, but in this Bright and Early Book classic, Marvin K. Mooney’s welcome has been worn out! In merry verse and illustrations, Marvin is asked to leave by every conceivable means of transportation. He can leave by lion’s tail or stamp himself and go by mail. By stilts or Crunk-Car or Zumble-Zay, it’s time that Marvin was on his way. Will Marvin ever get the hint? This book was great. As I have been making my way through Dr. Seuss books recently there have been some books I was excited to get to as I knew that it would be the first time I had ever read them; this is one of those books. I’m not sure why I never read this book as a child but I was happy to be reading it as an adult. This is one of the Dr. Seuss books that has a plot and characters rather than just being about language and learning. That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot of learning to be had in this book both from the writing and the plot of the story. One of the things I love most about Dr. Seuss’s books is the way that language is twisted and created to make weird and wonderful sentences that are just wonderful to read and this book is a fantastic example of this. On top of the fabulous writing are the stunning illustrations that perfectly complement the story and add an entirely new layer to this already great book. Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! by Dr. Seuss is a must-have for all young readers and their families.
It's time for Marvin to go. But he's just standing there. So the narrator goes to great lengths to tell Marvin all the ways he could leave, and he doesn't even care which one he chooses, just as long as he GOES!
I read this to PreK when they're learning about transportation. They just like the parts where the narrator yells, "GO!" :)
My favorite bit of trivia about this book: Dr. Seuss himself, Ted Geisel, once marked out the name "Marvin K. Mooney" throughout a copy of the book and replaced it with "Richard M. Nixon" in order to appease a friend--Art Buchwald--who claimed Seuss had never written anything political. Nixon resigned 10 days later. I'm sure some would say it had nothing to do with his spirit being utterly crushed by rejection from the great Doctor, but who knows for sure?? ;)
Here's a link to the "edited" version of the story, told my Buchwald himself: WashingtonPostArticle