Parents' Guide to Oh Say Can You Say?

Oh Say Can You Say? Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

By Peter Lewis , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 6+

A volatile stew of festive wordplay.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 6+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 6+

Based on 1 parent review

age 12+

Based on 2 kid reviews

What's the Story?

Fractured limericks? Tongue twisters? Brain teasers? Dr. Seuss blends the three into a volatile stew of festive wordplay. This book is divided into episodes--"West Beast East Beast," "Eat at Skipper Zipp's," and the like--that Seuss uses to create a barely contained visual and verbal tempest.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 1 ):
Kids say ( 2 ):

These forays into tongue-twisting are so good-natured that they can do little but bring a smile to your lips, which doesn't help a whole lot when it comes to trying to get the pronunciation right. Since each of the episodes (for the most part) occupies one two-page spread, they feel self-contained and snappy.

Dr. Seuss' bright colors and bewhiskered creatures are arrayed on a field of white, and the words seem to vibrate on the page, which should be a nuisance but here seems quite fitting.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the fun of saying tongue-twisters. Which ones are the most difficult? Are they also the most fun to try?

Book Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

Oh Say Can You Say? Poster Image

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate