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Book Summary

Reviewed by Peter Lewis

Dr. Seuss takes your tongue and ties it into a network of knots: "Who sews crow's clothes? / Sue sews crow's clothes. / Slow Joe Crow / sews whose clothes? / Sue's clothes." A good and queer company of Seuss characters take readers through the drill of verbal acrobatics that simply must--Seuss even orders it--be read aloud.

Is It Any Good?

5

Tongue twisting can twist in two directions: It can stimulate the funny bone and so increase the pleasure in words, or it can frustrate to the point where the twistee flings the book on the floor. In this case, mirth is more likely than muttering, especially when readers heed the cover warning: "This is a book you READ ALOUD to find out just how smart your tongue is. The first time you read it, don't go fast! This fox is a tricky fox. He'll try to get your tongue in trouble."

While Seuss gives your tongue a torquing, his artwork keeps your eyes firing on all eight cylinders. Deep colors heighten the effect of the wacky characters, who come in an array of Goo-Gooses, Bims and Bens (close relatives to the Cat in the Hat's mischievous henchmen, Thing One and Thing Two), tweetle beetles, and noodle-munching poodles.

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