Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?: Blue Back Book (Dr. Seuss - Blue Back Book)

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In 1936 on the way to a vacation in Europe, listening to the rhythm of the ship's engines, he came up with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly rejected by the first 43 publishers he showed it to. Eventually in 1937 a friend published the book for him, and it went on to at least moderate success. Mr. Brown can make any number of sounds with his voice - except, evidently, human speech. But who cares? It's a story. Along with such Seuss classics as "Hop on Pop" and "Green Eggs and Ham," this is one of those "must reads" to children. It's short, the examples of sounds are fun and varied, and the illustrations are engaging. The "Can you?" part of the title is really an invitation to the child or children to whom the story is being read to imitate Mr. Brown and/or the sounds he mimics.

Cinquain (pronounced "cin-kain") is a five-line poetic form, using a wavelike syllable count of two-four-six-eight-two. Well, Mr Brown is a farmer, and the book basically has him go through the various sounds that animals make. Mind you, this is from an English point of view, which means that all of the sounds are the sounds that the animals make if they happened to speak English. The reason I say that is because when you go to other languages you suddenly discover that the sounds that animals make are different. Sure, the sounds don’t change, but the interpretation of the sounds do.Have students look at this chart of animal sounds in a variety of languages and sound out the animal sounds listed there. Discuss why different cultures might say and write animal sounds in different ways. With students, examine the list and identify what things make each sound. In one regard, students will be demonstrating memory by recalling the item in the book that makes the sound, but they might also brainstorm alternate items that make the sounds. For instance, the sound "Boom! Boom!" in the book is associated with thunder. However that sound might also be someone beating on a big drum. Another fun writing and drawing activity for Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?is creating a list of objects and people and the sounds that they make. Read Mr. Brown Can MOO! Can You? or another picture book that features sound words to students to familiarize them with the story before you begin looking for examples of sound words. Allow time for discussion of the book and to answer any questions students have.

Now Mr. Brown talks to the inanimate. Pop pop. But who put the bottle into the air? Did Mr. Brown? His eyes are again closed. There is someone off screen. There must be. Is it the narrator? Overall, “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?” is a fantastic book for anyone who loves reading about sounds and loves reading Dr. Seuss books in general! I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book. Demonstrate how to find and think about the purpose of the sound words using this Sample Think Aloud as a guide. In Session Three, offer students choices beyond the cinquain. Students may also compose acrostic poems, theme poems, or diamante poems using online tools.Have groups add a third column to their charts and brainstorm details in this column about the animal or location that they've explored. Here's an example to share: El Sr. Brown es fantástico imitando sonidos! No solo puede hacer pop pop como un corcho obzzz bzzz como un abeja, también puede imitar otros sonidos raros… como el mua del beso de un pez o el chomchom de un hipopótamo que masca chicle. Ideal para fomentar los juegos imaginativos a la vez que los niños aprenden a leer, ¡El Sr. Brown hace MUUU! ¿Podrías hacerlo tú? hará que los pequeños no paren de reírse (¡excepto cuando mastiquen!). Helen Palmer Geisel died in 1967. Theodor Geisel married Audrey Stone Diamond in 1968. Theodor Seuss Geisel died 24 September 1991.