Green Eggs and Ham

Some people see Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss as a favorite classic children's book, while others find it redundant and annoying. Some readers view it as the familiar struggle of trying to get a reluctant child to try new foods, while others read it as a story about a stalker who won't take no for an answer. But, whether you love it or hate it, there is value in it for children who are just learning how to read.

Dr. Seuss carefully crafted this story using only 50 different words, which is actually pretty impressive when you stop to think about it. The use of the same high frequency words over and over again makes it a good choice for new readers, giving them the opportunity to practice reading common sight words and phonetic words. The text is distributed throughout the book with some pages having large chunks of text while pages only have a few words. What is the value in that? It gives new readers a chance to get used to reading longer sections of text and feeling a great sense of accomplishment at finishing a long page, while at the same time not overwhelming them with page after daunting page of long sections of text.

The book is an excellent choice to read with younger children as well because preschoolers naturally enjoy repetition and rhyming words. As you read the story, point out rhyming words as you go, or ask your child if they can find any words that rhyme.

Serving up a meal of "green eggs and ham" is a great way to bring this story to life after reading to with your child or children. To make bright green scrambled eggs, just put your scrambled egg mixture into a blender with a few spinach leaves (fresh or frozen work fine...kale also works well). Serve with ham on the side or cut into cubes and cooked with the eggs.