Audiobook Review: The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories by Dr.Seuss

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre: Short Stories

Release Date: 9/27/2011

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About the Book: Seven lost stories from the masterful Dr. Seuss compiled and published together for the first time in a new collection. From cautionary, lesson tales, to humor and fantastical new creatures, this is a must have for Dr. Seuss fans young and old!

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I think this book is best enjoyed on audio with wonderful narrators!! I'm always a bit nervous about "lost" stories, but I enjoyed this collection for the most part, especially after hearing about how they were short works originally published in magazines and newspapers. I thought I'd share a breakdown of what I liked or disliked about each story:

The Bippolo Seed narrated by Neil Patrick Harris-I loved this story and I really thought it was the strongest of the book. It had the classic Seuss feel to it of silliness and a lesson in the end. I also liked the rhymes and felt they all worked well in this story. Plus, add in Neil Patrick Harris's fabulous narration and you've got a great read/listen. (Really, he needs to narrate more audiobooks! Please-more NPH on audio!)

The Rabbit, The Bear, and the Zinniga-Zanniga-narrated by Angelica Houston-This one was just OK. I think part of it was the narration-it was good, but not great. I also felt the story was a bit weak. It's still fun, but wasn't a stand out for me.

Gustav the Goldfish-narrated by Jason Lee-Jason Lee, I like you, I really do! But I disliked your narration of this story! Just because you're reading for kids doesn't mean you have to be overly excited all the time! I wasn't a fan of this story, mostly because I felt the ending fell flat and the narration was annoying. When I got the book, I liked the illustrations for this story, so maybe I would have liked it better if I had read it with the pictures instead of listening to it.

Tadd and Todd narrated by Joan Cusack-I liked this story and the narration is good. I did feel a bit sad in the end though. I felt like Tadd and Todd wanted to  be unique and instead resigned to the fact that they were twins and had to be like each other. I would have liked to see them be able to embrace their originality instead of accepting they are the same. Maybe this was me projecting my adult-self onto the story. I think kids will find it fun and maybe find comfort in the fact that siblings are there with you as "peas in a pod".

Steak for Supper narrated by Edward Hermann-This story made me laugh and it was another strong classic Dr. Seuss. Filled with a menagerie of Seuss creatures, this one has lots of humor and silliness. It also has a nice twist to add to the humor. The narration helped make this one of the stand out stories of the book for me.

The Strange Shirt Spot narrated by William H. Macy-A great story with great narration! This is somewhat of an adventure story as a young boy can't get a dirty spot off anything! The trials of cleaning make for some laugh out loud fun and the end is sure to have parents and kids giggling with it's "oh so true" statement. This was another favorite story.

The Great Henry McBride narrated by Peter Dinklage-I enjoyed this story of a dreamer. The narration is fantastic and makes it a likable story. I also liked the idea of the story-that you can dream anything and no goal is too lofty. Peter Dinklage is another narrator that I would love to have narrate more audiobooks. One of the stand out stories and one of my favorites.

If you do listen to the audio, make sure you listen to the commentary at the end (which is the introduction in the book). It adds a lot to the book to examine each story and learn where they came from. The whole audio is about an hour long and worth every minute!! Great for readers of all ages, this would be a great audiobook for families and to introduce young listeners to the audio format.

Full Disclosure: Audiobook provided by my local library