Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!

2008-08-11
I got goose bumps from reading this book. Knowing that it was the unfinished Seuss and seeing how his editor had his ideas blended with those of Prelutsky and Smith, it was wonderful.

Hooray for this book!

2008-05-02
We are huge Dr. Seuss fans in our house and I do not think there is one book we have not read from everything he has ever written. Even though he never got to complete this book before his death, the book stays true to the ideas he had for the book and the combined authors and illustrators have done an excellent job in finishing the work that Dr. Seuss started.

In this day and age where everything seems to be done in a cookie cutter fashion, and standardized everything seems to be the norm, this book takes a look at what it would be like if a child could go to a school where the learning takes place over end of grade testing, or learning for the sake of a test score. The teachers show kids that learning can be fun, and the teachers are anything but ordinary. They go way beyond thinking outside the box to teach the children the things they need to learn, and imaginations run wild. If there was a school that existed that taught the way these teachers do, I would be first in line to sign my kids up! My son absolutely loves this book and he even thinks it would be cool to have a teacher like Miss Bonkers!

As an added bonus, the back of the book shows the work that Dr. Seuss had done for this book, along with hand written text and pictures. While my son does not really have an interest in that part of the book, I thoroughly enjoyed looking at the process he used to create a book. If I could give this book 6 stars, I would. You will LOVE this book!

I use this when I speak at graduation ceremonies for teachers.

2008-04-26
Thinking out of the box....the true legacy of Dr. Seuss. Not one way of teaching - but multiple ways of teaching to excite a child and have them truly enjoy learning. A great teacher goes beyond teaching to a minimal state test. A great teacher teachers their students "to think." Our children are not robots and one size never fits all. I am a clinical faculty member working with teachers in a teacher preparation program which trains teachers to be "diffendooferous" and to always grow, learn, and think out of the box for the benefit of their students. This book is a perfect way to sum up the experience. I have even animated a PowerPoint presentation to go with this dynamic reading which is a big hit at our graduation ceremony each semester. Thank you for this wonderful book.

Great Professional Development Icebreaker

2008-04-02
Our curriculum department were presenting a PD on testing to the faculty. We were trying to find a different and cute way to present the information. We read Diffendoofer Day and created a powerpoint to show the pictures to the audience. It was a success and after we ask the participants to create a page for our very own diffendoofer day book. Very hard book to find, but of course Amazon came to the rescue.

No Child Left Behind Should Read

2007-05-21
I think Dr. Seuss makes a very valid point in this book that the writers and supporters of continual testing should read. If we do our jobs as educators, and I am one, then we teach kids and not to the test, and in the end, the kids can pass the test. I use this book for my high school students prior to taking standardized tests. I also gave a copy to my principal.

Hooray for Dr Seuss and Friends!

2007-01-22
Started by Seuss, finished by Jack Prelutsky, and splendiferously illustrated by Lane Smith, this is the children's book publishing event of the year! Big--56 pages--and bursting with energy, here is a joyous ode to individuality, starring an unsinkable teacher named Miss Bonkers and quirky little Diffendoofer School, which must prove it has taught its students how to think--or have them sent to dreary Flobbertown. Included is an introduction by Dr. Seuss's longtime editor explaining how the book came to be and reproducing Dr. Seuss's 1989 original pencil sketches and hand-printed notes for the book--a true find for all Seuss collectors. In Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith pay homage to Dr. Seuss in their own distinctive ways. The result is the union of three one-of-a-kind voices in a brand-new, completely original book that is greater than the sum of its parts. For all of us who will never forget our school days and that special teacher, here is a book to give and to get.

Much Impressed

2006-03-23
Kia ora for supplying this book to Aotearoa / New Zealand so quickly. The boy who received it as a gift was delighted as we could not get it here. Noho ora mai.

excellent motivational look at learning that can happen in schools

2006-03-21
My brother shared this book with me a couple years ago. He enjoyed reading it with his two young kids. They loved both the school and teachers in the stories. The book highlights what schools should be about; student interest, learning, excitement, fun; in contrast to what often takes over in schools today -- tests, meaps, rules. I found it motivating and keep it on my desk at work (at school) to remind me of what's important.

A moving book about alternative education

2006-03-06
As someone who believes that thinking for onesself is one of the keys to successful (and happy) adulthood, this book moved me to tears. A must have for anyone who questions the traditional schooling model.

Good book to add to the Dr. Seuss collection

2006-02-24
I bought this book for my daughter and I guess for me too since I've been a Dr. Seuss fan my whole life. This book was started by Dr. Seuss, but he never finished it before he died. It was finished for him. I like to have it in the collection because Dr. Seuss started it, but also because after the story it shows how the book came about. It shows Dr. Seuss' sketches that he would have used if he had finished the book and it also shows his thought process in writing the book, the words he wrote and crossed out and different things that he came up with as he tried to get it just the way he wanted it.