The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories

Bought this for my 2 1/2 yr. old granddaughter and she loves it. Of course, she won't sit still for the whole story (they are rather long) but she listens for a few minutes then goes and does something else for a while. She keeps coming back for more so I have to remember where we left off!

wRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED IN dR. sEUSS' INIMITABLE STYLE--ALWAYS A MORAL WITHIN A FUN, IMAGINATIVE STORY, LOTS OF FUN RHYMING SENTENCES. i RECOMMEND IT FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES--i AM 69 MYSELF. i AM READING IT TO A GROUP OF FIRST-GRADERS AND THEY ARE A RAPT AUDIENCE FOR EACH STORY IN THIS BOOK--THERE ARE SEVEN STORIES IN ALL.

The day we recieved this book I read 5 of the stories to my 6 yr old daughter back to back. She loved every one, and didn't want to stop. A great find. I'm so happy we discovered more from Dr. Seuss, I thought we had them all. This is a great addition to your collection if you love Seuss.

Dr. Seuss' magazine stories almost faded from existence, but the editor has recovered these worthwhile tales from doom and reprinted them herein for another generation to enjoy. I recommend these for children of all ages who grew up (or are growing up) on the works of Theodore Geisel.

I'd personally give this book five stars, but I didn't buy it for me, I bought it for my daughter. While she does love pretty much all of Seuss' work, this one has LOTS of words and relatively few pictures and just isn't as interesting for a child.

My 6 year old grand son picked up the book and immediately started reading it. It didn't seem to bother him that there were more words than pictures. It is a good transition away from picture books for him.

'The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories' is a great set of stories from the incomparable Dr. Seuss. All of these stories contain the usual positive morals, entertaining illustrations, and tell-tale seussian rhyme we expect from the master children's story teller. I still find these stories highly amusing and complex enough to keep the interest of children and adults, alike.

What a delightful find for all Seuss lovers!! Seuss is timeless so there is no going wrong no matter what you choose. The items were received in new condition just as described. the store has a tendency to be earlier than expected delivery date on almost everything I order.

'The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories' is a great set of stories from the incomparable Dr. Seuss. All of these stories contain the usual positive morals, entertaining illustrations, and tell-tale seussian rhyme we expect from the master children's story teller. I still find these stories highly amusing and complex enough to keep the interest of children and adults, alike.

What a delightful find for all Seuss lovers!! Seuss is timeless so there is no going wrong no matter what you choose. The items were received in new condition just as described. the store has a tendency to be earlier than expected delivery date on almost everything I order.

Bob Alwood
I've been sharing "The Great Henry McBride" (the last story in the book) with school children for over 20 years! Glad to see it finally in print. The other stories were also well deserving of coming out of the closet and being published in book form like so many other great Dr. Seuss stories! George Walters introduced me to Henry and he said he hoped one day Henry could be as famous as "Casey at the Bat"! This could be the book that does that!

No disappointments. The stories feel like old friends, as Dr. Seuss always does. The folks who lend their voices tell the tales as if they were their own. We all enjoyed learning more about Dr. Seuss through the notes at the end of the disc. Production quality is top notch.

My daughter loved Dr Seuss as a child (and still does) and now teaches kindergarten. I knew she would love sharing this new story with her classes. I gave it to her as a Christmas present and as soon as she had unwrapped everything she grabbed this book and started reading! She loved it!!!

I grew up never even knowing these stories existed, so reading through them with my Dr. Seuss loving children for the first time was so much fun! They have a moral, rhyme, and otherwise are fun and imaginative, as per his usual style.

My family loves the brilliance that is Dr. Seuss, so I guess you could call this review biased from the get-go. Given that, I am still pleased with the seven stories collected in newly published volume of his work; ones that had only been seen in magazine of the 40s and 50s until now. I remember reading a couple of these stories as child, those being 'Tadd and Todd' and 'Gustav the Goldfish'. They also happen to be my favorites, but that may be be for sentimental reasons since they all are wonderful. My childrens' favorites are 'The Bippolo Seed' and 'The Bear, the Rabbit, and the Zinniga-Zanniga'. None of them disappoint however, and they stand as equals to any of Dr. Seuss' other short stories.

Dentist Charles Cohen painstaking collected these stories from the various magazines in which they were published. Conversion to book format much improved the layout and look of them and also allowed the illustrations to be presented in full color. I tip my hat to Dr. Cohen for his love of Dr. Seuss' vision and the work that went into tracking down these tales. If not for him, future generations might never have been able to experience this amazing collection.

~ Kort

Everything ordered was properly delivered on time and in perfect condition! This has now become one of my favorite Dr. Seuss collection of story books. Several obscure stories I do not remember as a child. I love it!!!

My kids are big Dr Seuss fans, so I grabbed this book as soon as it came out.
The stories are OK, but a little disappointing. I think the main problem is that Dr Seuss used many of the themes and rhymes better in his later works (which my kids know as their old Dr Seuss stories).

As my mom's 60th birthday was approaching, and because she is an identical twin, I wanted to buy her and my aunt a unique gift. This book hit the spot. They both loved the story of Tadd and Todd. The other stories were classic Suess, as well.

This complaint is strictly about the book itself - NOT the content. We love Dr Seuss and are sure this book would have been fantastic, as all of his are. But we were very sad to realize that the book had been printed incorrectly, such that half way through it, the story was cut off and the book sort of started over in the middle. Like with a title page, table of contents and everything, right there in the middle of the book. Since this was a purchase that I (uncharacteristically, for me) made early and as a Christmas present for our kids, it was too late to return it by the time we realized it was messed up. Anyway, we liked the first half of the book, though not so much that we wanted to re-read it when it was repeated in the same copy. And we're very curious to read the second half of the Bippolo Seed. I think this time though, we'll buy it from somewhere that we can look between the pages and make sure they're all there ahead of time. For the record, I'm a huge the store fan. This was just one bad buy. Bummer.

An omnibus of seven early Dr. Seuss stories that had gotten lost. The illustrations in all the stories are great fun with that typical Dr. Seuss flair.

My Take
If you're a children's writer (or wanna be *grin*), do read the introduction by Charles D. Cohen to learn more about why Ted Geisel wrote as he did, what influenced him. That bit about three-year-old Brad having memorized a Dr. Seuss story is, as Cohen states, "a pivotal point in Dr. Seuss's writing career".

The Stories
"The Bippolo Seed" finds McKluck the duck being influenced into greed. And, oh, boy, you can have some fun with your child reading the long, long list of McKluck's wishes and how silly they are.

"The Rabbit, the Bear, and the Zinniga-Zanniga" is quite funny as the rabbit proves that "It's always the same when you fight with Big Guys…A bit of Quick-Thinking counts much more than size".

Definitely a great topic to address with your kids about thinking being better than fighting. There's also that great laugh over scamming that hypochondriacal bear.

"Gustav, the Goldfish" definitely appeals to me. I always feel bad that my kittens don't get the variety or amount of food I feed myself, especially when they turn those great big eyes on me and plead with me to f-e-e-d them. They're starving…

This could turn into a chat about responsibility to their pets and themselves.

"Tadd and Todd"

"Which one was what one, and what one was who."

A story about twins with one who wants to be an individual, unique while the other likes being part of pair whom no one can tell apart. It's all the things Tadd does, trying to be different, that provide a great opportunity to talk with your kids about being different and coming up with more and more sillier and sillier ideas. Although…how you could get sillier than Dr. Seuss…?

And, it seems, there is an inevitability about being a twin, lol.

"That I am just I, and that I am not he."

"Steak for Supper" finds a little boy in great distress, for he had been bragging and manages to escape by the skin of the stew.

"The Strange Shirt Spot" makes me wonder if Dr. Seuss isn't telling us that we can't hide anything from our parents.

"The Great Henry McBride" is caught up in all the possibilities of a future career. Cohen does mention that Ted Geisel is the original Henry McBride with all the careers he pursued. I know there are quite a few of us who have explored different vocations, and Dr. Seuss explores them with all the gusto of youth.

That ending line cracks me up: "The best job is dreaming, with no work at all."

The Cover and Title
The cover has a slightly grayed-out colonial blue background with a quick sketch of the characters in each of the stories. With McKluck the duck as he finds the bippolo seed, to Henry McBride dreaming under a tree, Tadd and Todd truckin' along, the boy trying to clean out that spot, Gustav outgrowing his bowl, the blabbing young boy with his trailing line, and the bear and the rabbit. All in pure Dr. Seuss style.

The title is what it is, The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories.

This book contains 7 stories that were originally published in magazines towards the beginning of Seuss' career. The following stories are included:
The Bippolo Seed: A duck finds a seed that will grant him wishes. But a cat comes along to encourage the duck to wish bigger until he becomes so greedy he loses track of the seed and of his wishes.
The Rabbit, The Bear and the Zinniga-Zanniga: Bear wants to eat Rabbit. Rabbit wants to live. So Rabbit comes up with a clever way to convince Bear that he is deficient because of uneven eyelashes. Bear is concerned he is going to die, but Rabbit gives him a solution and runs away safely.
Gustav, the Goldfish: A boy is warned not to feed his goldfish, Gustav a lot, but doesn't listen to advice. He feeds Gustav a lot. The goldfish grows at an alarming rate until the man who sold the goldfish comes along and saves the day.
Tadd and Todd: Tadd and Todd are twins. But Tadd wants to be seen separately from his twin and tries all sorts of tricks to look different. The problem is, his twin anticipates his every change and changes also. Tadd has to come to terms with being two peas in a pod with his twin.
Steak for Supper: A boy mistakenly announces that he is going home and having steak for supper. The word gets out and he is followed home by a string of interesting creatures. Fortunately, he gets home to find stew awaiting instead and the uninterested creatures go home.
The Strange Shirt Spot: A boy comes home with a spot on his shirt. He tries to clean it, but the spot keeps attaching itself to something else. After much work, the spot lands right back where it started and the boy gets scolded by his mother anyway.
The Great Henry McBride: Henry dreams of what he wants to be when he grows up. He imagines that he can do several jobs at once since he likes so many.

The illustrations are colorful and interesting.

A few of these stories are quite interesting and a few are so so. My favorite is the Strange Shirt Spot. Unlike the zippy and zangy rhythm often found in Seuss' work, these short stories tend to be more tedious and wordy. They are definitely work taking a look at for serious Seuss fans. Advertized for ages 5-9.

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories (2011) is a Dr. Seuss collection. It contains a long introduction and seven stories.

- "Introduction" (2011) by Charles D. Cohen explains how these stories were published in Redbook magazines and promptly forgotten. Fortunately, he tracked them down and republished them together in slightly different form.

- "The Bippolo Seed" (1951) warns of the dangers of greed.

- "The Rabbit, the Bear and the Zinniga-Zanniga" (1951) tells of a fast thinking and talking rabbit who is about to be eaten by a bear.

- "Gustav, the Goldfish" (1950) advises pet owners to follow the instructions.

- "Tadd and Todd" (1950) cites the problems of being an identical twin.

- "Steak for Supper" (1950) discloses the disadvantages of loose lips.

- "The Strange Shirt Spot" (1951) shadows the efforts of a boy trying to get dirt off his new shirt.

- "The Great Henry McBride" (1951) follows the thoughts of a boy imaging his future career.

These tales are shorter than books like Green Eggs and Ham. Yet they have the Seuss magic, with colored illustrations, interesting themes and rhyming lines.

Highly recommended for Dr. Seuss fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of young children and animals. Read and enjoy!

-Bill Jordin

I'll be quite honest, this book is a must.
I hope it's my word that you will trust.

Last night, I started and quietly read
but soon the words left my head.
Out my mouth, quickly they came.
This book was not meant to be tamed.
For children, it's best if it's read aloud,
with silly voice and such. Do it proud!
Adults beware! It's not easy to say-
it's a Fox in Socks, tongue-twisting play.

"The Bippolo Seed" is about a young duck
who finds a magical seed. Ohh, what luck!
If he plants this seed, a tree will grow.
Anything the duck wishes, it will bestow.

The problem within this story lies
a big, greedy cat and his big, greedy eyes.
He wants the young duck to wish for more.
Never is enough! There's tons to wish for!
The cat's greed was infectious, indeed.
With excitement and glee at a reckless speed,
the young duck danced and spun.
Guess what? That seed was flung
out of his fist in a river close-by
and that was it, a sad goodbye.
The seed was gone and to there surprise
a moral they learned. Next time, they'll be wise.

Seven good stories with morals galore
go run, right out your front door.
Go get this book for you will see
it's a treasure, a great fun read.

[...]

Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! They say of me, 'Does he not speak parables?'" -- Ezekiel 20:49 (NKJV)

"Lost" stories by a favorite author are irresistible to me. Seuss scholar Dr. Charles D. Cohen has done us a great favor by tracking down these seven stories that had only appeared in magazines previously and helping to provide them in a better than first published form by adding better color to the illustrations. His introduction explains how the book came to be published and places the stories into the context of Dr. Seuss's career and his other stories. Thank you Dr. Cohen!

Since these stories were originally published between 1948 and 1959, don't expect his most powerful work and most polished verses. The seed of the future greatness is certainly there to read and savor in important messages. These are shorter stories than the later ones, and as such are more to the point . . . a blessing for the youngest hearers and readers.

The Bippolo Seed has a theme of how greed can cause you to lose focus on what's important in just the way a young person can appreciate (having seen many adults, I'm sure, make similar mistakes).

The Rabbit, the Bear, and the Zinniga-Zanniga demonstrates that brains count more than size and strength while having a little fun with gullibility.

Gustav, the Goldfish, may remind you of the story, "A Fish out of Water," and Disney classic cartoon, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." I love the drawings!

Tadd and Todd is about identical twins who differ on the desirability of looking the same. The story provides great opportunities for the wonderful Seuss imagination and illustrations of whimsical things.

Steak for Supper demonstrates the fantastic imagination that children have . . . and how it can cause them some grief. This one features many fantastic creatures in the best Seuss tradition.

The Strange Shirt Spot may remind you of part of The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. The morale of the story is that it's a good idea to do what your parents tell you to do.

The Great Henry McBride takes on the subject of youthful dreams about growing up . . . with a gentle, but firmly humorous, touch.

Is this, then, the best of Seuss?
No, no one would be that loose!
But these stories will bring,
Smiles enough for a queen or a king.

Bravo!

Ted Geisel (a. k. a. Dr. Seuss) may come to be known throughout Literary History on a par with the Brothers' Grimm and Aesop (of Fable fame). His ability to speak directly to a salient point, give smiles to children (irrespective of their age) and create memorable characters tell of his talent as a poet, ability as a story teller and his gift of imagination. When these seven stories were "discovered" (actually gathered after decades), a treasure of his talents and a reminder of a world gone by was made available to an era 60 years removed from Dr. Seuss' pen but whose words are as welcome as welcome as "Christmas roast Beast."
These seven poems, the first time they have been presented in book form, have not been published since 1950 & 1951. Charles D. Cohen, "the world's foremost Seuss scholar" (p.8) has gathered and introduces these poetry-as-prose. Each poem teaches, instructs, entertains and challenges the reader to use his/her imagination as they enter the realm of Dr. Seuss.
The title is that of the first poem and Shel Silverstein probably read it, as he later developed a poem with similar images and ending. "The rabbit, the bear and the Zinniga-Zanniga" would be at home in The Tales of Uncle Remus. "Gustav, the Goldfish" reminded me that there are reasons for directions and it is a smart move to follow their wisdom. "Tadd and Todd" are the forerunners of "Thing One and Thing Two" found in The Cat in the Hat. "Steak for Supper" introduces six characters from the mind of Dr. Seuss and a reminder to watch what is said and where one chooses to speak. "The Strange Shirt Spot" was the precursor to The Cat in the Hat. "The Great Henry McBride" is my favorite, as it reminded me of the daydreams I had while walking in the woods as a child (and still have, just not in the woods).
This gathering will become as ubiquitous as One Fish, Two Fish; Red Fish, Blue Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, or How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I enjoyed all the poems (and I am not a poetry man) my son (a Seuss aficionado at 22) inhaled them and I am looking forward, greatly, to reading them to a child. When Mr. Geisel died, the world lost a voice that children can hear with the most clarity. I am grateful to hear a new whisper of that dear voice once again.

I was so excited when I stumbled across this book. My aunt had a big Dr. Seuss collection that I always used to pull out and read whenever I babysat her kids. He is one of my absolute favorite children's authors, so when I heard that they were publishing new Dr. Seuss; I couldn't wait to read it. These are the original stories and artwork that Dr. Seuss wrote for some children's magazines and had been largely forgotten. Now they are in book form for all of us to enjoy. What a treat!

I originally bought this audio book a few years ago for my son. He is blind and has autism. Because this book has been his all time favorite, I had to order it again. The book is read by several well known actors who do a wonderful job being silly and enthusiastic. They really make the stories come alive. My only complaint is that it is not available in a digital format. I definitely recommend this audio book for children of all ages.

I've loved Dr. Seuss since I was a child. I'm sure at one point or another, I've read every Seuss book available (and own most of them), so when I heard that there was going to be a "new" collection of stories published, both me and my inner child squealed in delight! The stories are taken from magazines that were published between the mid 1940s to late 1950s, and hadn't really been seen since these magazines had originally been published.

These stories are quite clearly from early on in Dr. Seuss' writing career. They carry his inherit flare and whit that is prominent in all his writing, but they don't quite carry the "lesson learned" aspect that he became known for. Not that these elements aren't in these stories (such as "The Bippolo Seed," which deals with the dangers of greed), but they are only there marginally. It seems to me that Dr. Seuss wrote these tales more for pleasure and fun than really trying to bestow any kind of wisdom to his young readers as he would in his later books.

If you're a fan of Dr. Seuss I'd highly recommend this book. The drawings have been reproduced in a color palette that wasn't available to magazine's of the time, but matches perfectly with the colors used in his published books. The foreword by renowned Seuss scholar, Charles Cohen (who tracked down each of the stories in the collection), is a fascinating look into the history around when each of the story's were written and helps show how Dr. Suess helped change how books were written for children. This is a real treat for any Seuss fan!

your kids will love these Seuss stories "The Bear, the Rabbit, and the Zinniga-Zanniga ", "Gustav the Goldfish", "Tadd and Todd" , "Steak for Supper" , "The Bippolo Seed" , "The Strange Shirt Spot", and "The Great Henry McBride". The illustrations are funny and support the rhymes.

Random House has uncovered seven Seuss stories that were published in magazines in the 1950s but have never appeared as books. These stories are reportedly from a time when Dr. Seuss changed his style from a prose style to his trademark rhyming.

This is a book that your kids will love and like to read over and over again.
It's fun!

your kids will love these Seuss stories "The Bear, the Rabbit, and the Zinniga-Zanniga ", "Gustav the Goldfish", "Tadd and Todd" , "Steak for Supper" , "The Bippolo Seed" , "The Strange Shirt Spot", and "The Great Henry McBride". The illustrations are funny and support the rhymes.

Random House has uncovered seven Seuss stories that were published in magazines in the 1950s but have never appeared as books. These stories are reportedly from a time when Dr. Seuss changed his style from a prose style to his trademark rhyming.

This is a book that your kids will love and like to read over and over again.
It's fun!