Parents' Guide to

On Beyond Zebra!

By Peter Lewis, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Made-up alphabet book has fun wordplay, tired stereotype.

Book Dr. Seuss For Beginning Readers 1955
On Beyond Zebra! Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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What's the Story?

In ON BEYOND ZEBRA!, the main character, a young White boy, explains that Z is a good letter, yes indeed -- but so is YUZZ, which comes after Z, you see. And WUM and UM and THNAD and FLUNN, which come after YUZZ. This book has lots more mischievous and mind-expanding verbal hijinks -- and fabulous fictional creatures -- from Dr. Seuss.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This zany book lets kids take a break from the difficult work of learning their letters and be thankful that there are only 26 letters in the Latin (or Roman) alphabet. Older readers can have fun reading the words with brio and dash, accelerating up through those Nutches in their Nitches. The youngest can simply delight in having the loopy verse read to them while they scan the fanciful images. However, be aware that one image relies on a Middle Eastern stereotype: a man with head scarf and billowy pants riding on a camel-like creature.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the new letters in the alphabet in On Beyond Zebra! Did you know that different languages can have different alphabets? Can you think of another alphabet that looks different from the one you use in your language?

  • Can you recite all the letters in your alphabet? Try coming up with some new letters after the last letter.

  • What's your favorite letter of the alphabet? Why do you like it?

Book Details

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