Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories: An illustrated collection of hilarious tales for kids 3-7, from the classic bestselling children's author

As always with Dr Seuss, the pictures are a delight – and worthy of 5 stars even without the accompanying great stories. In this book there are three separate stories, each with their own lesson to be learned – although, I think the ‘lessons’ taken might be different for adults than for children, and will probably differ even between adults, depending on their starting points and interests – all of which makes these stories highly flexible and fascinating.From ‘Yertle the Turtle’, the lesson for me, was that you should never forget the needs of the weakest, the people at the bottom. However great your empire (tower), if you do not support your foundations, their support may be (inadvertently?) be withdrawn and the whole edifice will tumble. I feel Karl Marx would have approved of this story. I also got quite mad at the arrogance of Yertle, that (apart from his exploitation of his subjects) he felt entitled to claim kingship over the cows, cats, mules … simply because he could see them – regardless of what they might want or need. Similar to the way human empires such as the British, Roman, Mongol … (and now USA, China …) simply annexed other peoples, countries that they saw (‘discovered’). Lots to think about – the ways and the unfairness of power politics.‘Gertrude McFuzz’ was my least favourite of the three tales. This could be seen as a lesson in being grateful for what you have, don’t aspire for more than your lot, or a reiteration of the 10th commandment about coveting your neighbours goods. However, I chose to see it as a warning, that occasionally things are the way they are for a very good reason. Also, that ‘more’ is not necessarily ‘better’, and ‘be careful what you wish for’‘The Big Brag’ was probably my favourite story. For me, it was about how everyone has something that they are very good at – and it may not be what your neighbour is good at. All abilities may not be equal, but all are of equivalent worth, and to brag about one particular ability you possess, and to consider that that makes you better than everyone else, is to grossly underestimate the incredible variety of abilities that are vitally important to a vibrant society. It is one of my bugbears, that schools often focus entirely on academic ability, and – especially in the UK – push all pupils into aiming for university. Pupils who have great artistic, musical, athletic, organisational, practical and/or emotional skills – but not academic prowess – are often deemed failures.All in all, this is a marvellous book for children (and for adult) – with so much to discuss. And we can all come out with different conclusions as to what each story means.

Fun and lovely book! It is great for guided reading, circle time discussions, and teaching vocabulary! My students love it.

Love this book. Bought to read to my little boy.

I bought this book for my granddaughter. A joy to read it to her, we both loved it. A super fun book, would well recommend.

My son and I really enjoyed these tales. The language is so carefully and playfully crafted and yet seems naive and child like., to tickle young and old.

I loved this story as a child and still do - it's as much of a political story as a kids one. However my four year old loves it which I knew he would. Dr Seuss is a genius of storytelling and illustrating. Check our 'McGelligots Pool' and 'The Cat in the Hat' for more amazing stories.

Love this book. I had my brother's old hard back edition but he wanted it back so have bought this for the grandchildren.Not as good as the old battered original but the same stories.

You can't really go wrong with Dr Seuss books. The style of writing enables young ones to learn how to read and spell with much humour. There are also life lessons to learn in most of the books and this one is no exception. There are a few stories in the book and my 6 year old can read them all easily on her own. The books are small and flexible and perfect for packing into a bag for a car journey or for a few moments peace in a restaurant etc.