Woo hoo! It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!
Today, we’re going to travel back in time to a book I loved back in my misspent youth in about 1969 😊
Stuck in our houses as we all are under the circumstances, what a perfect time to look out the window and see what we can see!
And maybe improve on what we actually see with a little imagination. . . 😊
Title: And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street
Written & Illustrated By: Dr. Seuss
Vanguard Press, Inc., 1937, fiction
Suitable For Ages: 5-9
Themes/Topics: Imagination/tall tales, language fun (rhyme)
Opening: “When I leave home to walk to school,
Dad always says to me,
“Marco, keep your eyelids up
And see what you can see.”
But when I tell him where I’ve been
And what I think I’ve seen,
He looks at me and sternly says,
“Your eyesight’s much too keen.
“Stop telling such outlandish tales.
Stop turning minnows into whales.”
Now what can I say,
When I get home today?”
Brief Synopsis: Charged with keeping his eyes open and reporting back on what he sees on his way home from school, Marco simply can’t tell his father that all he saw was a plain horse and wagon on Mulberry Street! So as he walks along, he think of how he could jazz it up a bit… 😊
Links To Resources: Look out the window of your house or car, or take a little walk, and see what you can see, then imagine it into a grander version and draw a picture of what you imagine, or write or tell a story about it! You can also see how many things you can see that start with the letter A (or any other letter), or count how many flowers (or other objects) you can see. Construction paper little red wagon; Bumping Up And Down In My Little Red Wagon (song)
Why I Like This Book: This is Dr. Seuss’s very first book for children, and as you can tell by the condition of the book in the photo above, it was one of my very first books – much loved by me and my siblings back in the late ’60s and early ’70s, and much loved by my children a couple decades later. It is the classic cumulative tale, beginning with a plain horse and wagon and getting more and more embellished until he’s got a brass band with a man in a little house hitched on behind being pulled by an elephant ridden by a rajah and flanked by two giraffes… until he has a story that no one can beat – and to think that he saw it on Mulberry Street!! I’m sure we’ve all felt the urge from time to time to make a story a little more interesting by adding a few details here and there. . . certainly kids like to do it. . . sometimes to see how far they can get and what people will believe! But the end result in this story is that, despite the fun he had with his imagination, Marco tells the plain truth – dull as it may seem in comparison to his active imagination 😊
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂
And stay safe and well!!! 🌷
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Hi Susanna,
Your copy looks very similar to our lovingly worn copy. In 2012, NPR presented a lovely program dedicated to the 75th anniversary of this story. Here is the link for anyone who might like to read/hear it:
https://www.npr.org/2012/01/24/145471724/how-dr-seuss-got-his-start-on-mulberry-street
Cheers and Safe Wishes,
PALPBKIDS
I’m glad you loved it too! And thanks for sharing the link for everyone!!!
I love that you’re finding these gems to share. It’s so comforting to think back to beloved childhood books in these troubling times.
It really is comforting, Patricia! Also… I have access to fewer new books than usual at the moment 🙂 so I’m using my library! 🙂
Such a fun classic book! I recently visited a “Dr. Seuss Experience” which had a display of some prints of his early work with storyboards. So interesting!
That must have been really cool to see Andrea!
What a great share today. I haven’t read this one and looks fun. I love the little boy’s big imagination. I didn’t read Dr Seus books until my youngest brother was born or I read them to kids I was babysitting. Didn’t have them as a child. I was graduating from high school in 1969.
I love Dr. Seuss, Pat, but this one might be my favorite…except for The Grinch… and The Cat In The Hat Comes Back… and Green Eggs And Ham… 🙂 This one was actually published in 1937, so it’s been around a long time!
Yes, I saw the publication date. Hold on to it!!!
I’ve taken a short step back from posting PPBF because of the #50PreciousWords Contest…but I’m so glad I stopped by Mulberry Street…I mean your Perfect Picture Book Friday post, Susanna.
I think I never really appreciated this story until I read this post…now I’m going to have to find a copy and study it. I remember several years ago, in one of your Holiday Contests, I wrote a story that I guess was inspired in some small way by this book…thanks for the blast from the past, Susanna…and here’s one for you:
THE MONSTER FAIR by Vivian Kirkfield
It happened in the summer, down on Gollywhomper Square.
The residents decided they would build a Monster Fair.
The first ride they constructed was a giant Ferris wheel.
A jingling carousel was next, made of the strongest steel.
The third one they erected was a mammoth water slide.
They pumped the contents of a lake to fill that drenching ride.
But trouble was a-brewing because no one could agree
On Bumper Cars or Tilt-a-Whirl – which should the next one be?
The shouting match grew louder –Screaming Swing or Pirate Ship!
It must be Roller Coaster – Topple Tower – no – the Whip!
A small voice whispered, “Just pick one—it doesn’t matter which.”
But Hambone pushed Behemoth right into a snowy ditch.
With stomping feet and blazing eyes, they all began to fight,
Like popping firecrackers, you could see the sparks ignite.
The fairgrounds shook and shimmied – as the earth began to quake.
An avalanche descended and refilled the empty lake.
No Ferris wheel – no carousel – no drenching water slide!
A mountain range of pure white snow had covered every ride.
The monsters moaned. The children cried. The fair would never be.
They hung their heads, their shoulders slumped, why did they disagree?
Again, a small voice whispered, “We can have fun in the snow.
Just grab your sleds and find your skis and down the hills we’ll go!”
The monsters turned, their eyebrows raised. Their mouths were open wide.
The children cheered and clapped their hands. They couldn’t wait to slide.
But first they got together and they helped Behemoth out
And made a pact to listen first and never ever shout.
So if you ever plan to be on Gollywhomper Square
You’ll find a winter wonderland – The Frozen Monster Fair!
Hope you are safe and well on Blueberry Hill, my friend.
I have always loved Mulberry Street, Vivian – one of my favorites! And I remember this story! It was really good! Thank you for sharing it here for us to enjoy again! Thank you for your well wishes – we are so far so good here and hope and pray that you are too! ❤
Such a fun book! We have always loved that one. I think it sucks to be the 27 (29? – I hate math.) people who rejected it way back then. Oh well…
Love and licks,
Cupcake
I know, right?! What were they thinking?! 🙂 This is such a gem!
I discovered Dr. Seuss books in the school library and LOVED them, especially the illustrations! My mom didn’t care for Dr. Seuss at all, probably wasn’t a fan of “nonsense.” So I never owned one, but I read them all during library time. And of course I bought Dr. Seuss books for my own kids! My favorite one is “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”
We had a few, Brenda – this being one of them 🙂 I also love the Grinch! Such a great one!
Wonderful book, but most of his are. And it’s obviously been well-loved.
Yes, it’s kind of a miracle that the cover hasn’t completely fallen off! Happy Birthday, Maria!!! 🙂
I never saw his books when I was a kid until much much later. Great choice Susanna. Hope I’m not too late to the party. 🙂
I’m a little late in posting. Sigh. So many interruptions. This is one of Seuss’s I’ve never read. Will have to rectify this as it looks/sounds quite fun! Thank you, Susanna, for a little trip back in time.
This has always been my favorite Dr. Seuss. Such fun to think about it again and try to create a story in the same vein. Thanks, as always, Susanna, for brightening my day 🙂