My first-grade students really enjoyed this read-aloud. ( )

Young Bartholomew Cubbins and King Derwin of Didd return in this amusing follow-up to their initial adventure, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. Now a page in the king's castle, Bartholomew is dismayed when the foolish King Derwin decides that snow, sun, rain and fog are boring, and that he wants something new to fall from the sky. Summoning his court magicians, the king commands them to create something new, in the way of weather, and that sinister cabal complies, brewing up a sticky, gooey green substance known as ooblek. Soon everyone in the castle and kingdom is stuck in greenish goo, from the humblest farmer to the king himself, paralyzed on his throne. It falls to Bartholomew to point out the obvious - that this is all the king's fault - and to demand an apology. For mysterious reasons, the simple words "I'm Sorry" have a magic all their own...

First published in 1949, some eleven years after the first story featuring Bartholomew Cubbins and King Derwin, Bartholomew and the Ooblek was Dr. Seuss' seventh picture-book, and it was awarded a Caldecott Honor in 1950. It was a perennial favorite in my childhood home, and many are the nights when I asked for it to be read to me, or read it on my own, once I was able. Something about that gooey, sticky ooblek was fascinating to me, as a girl - striking me as simultaneously frightening and funny. My present reread was prompted by my recently undertaken Dr. Seuss retrospective, in which I plan to read and review all forty-four of his classic picture-books, in chronological publication order. It is a project I began as an act of personal protest against the suppression of six of the author/artist's titles - And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, McElligot's Pool, If I Ran the Zoo, Scrambled Eggs Super!, On Beyond Zebra! and The Cat's Quizzer - by Dr. Seuss Enterprises. See my review of And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, to be found HERE, for a fuller exploration of my thoughts on that matter.

In any case, I found Bartholomew and the Ooblek every bit as engaging as I remembered, during this current reread. The story highlights the foolish hubris of King Derwin - also a theme in The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins - who imagines that he can improve upon nature, and have a better form of weather created through artificial means. One could read it as the hubris of humanity, so frequently thinking we can outdo nature, or the hubris of the elite - kings and other leaders imagining it is their right to make such far-reaching decisions by themselves. However one reads it, the consequences of the king's decision demonstrate that such actions have the potential to be immensely destructive, while the conclusion of the story highlights the important role that humility and repentance can play, in restoring harmony to human society, and to the wider world. Learning to admit our mistakes, and to apologize for them, is a difficult lesson sometimes, even for adults, so Dr. Seuss' entertaining little fable, which presents this process in such an amusing way, is most welcome. The accompanying artwork, done in black and white, with a sole color accent - green, for the ooblek - is immensely expressive. The limited color scheme really highlights the outlandish and surprising nature of the ooblek, and brilliantly complements the story. I can easily see why this was awarded a Caldecott Honor, despite the fact that it seems at first glance to be a retreat from Dr. Seuss' more colorful style, first seen in McElligot's Pool. Highly recommended to all picture-book readers, whether they enjoy unusual fairy-tale-style stories, or are fans of the creator. ( )

Seriously not very impressed with this book. No rhymes, uninspired characters, and not nearly enough whimsy... ( )

Children's book with exceptional illustrations
This was one of my favorite books growing up in elementary school (probably because we got to make our own Oobleck in 5th grade when we were studying rhyming)! I remember thinking the illustrations were so creative; even though they weren't very realistic, they gave that quality that really caught my eye.

Heard that Oklahoma was using this book to help with teaching mathematics courses. Dr. Seuss might have been a product of his time, but his children's books are always a treat to behold. Hearing about this book being used to teach college courses is just a delight. ( )