![]() ![]() And best of all, he leaves the door open for readers to create their own extension to the alphabet/syllabary! The concept of the book is simple: the narrator introduces young Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell to the weird and wonderful letters that come after "z" (yes, AFTER "z"), and provides the wide-eyed child with a marvelous bestiary of the Seussian creatures whose names begin with these letters.Īctually, Seuss's post-"z" letters appear to constitute a syllabary rather than a true extended alphabet, but why quibble over technical details? The letters/syllabics and their accompanying creatures represent Seuss at his most delightful. Seuss's books when I was a child, and as an adult I appreciate the insight and humor of this classic even more. Similar to Horton, it is fun to see Seuss put large animals up high and to know that these images stay in his mind and can be used again without loosing any of their wonderfully absurd originality."On Beyond Zebra" was my favorite of Dr. This is not necessarily my favorite image, but it stood out to me the most because I recognized it from one of Seuss’ political cartoons that he made over 10 years earlier. First is HUMPF and then THNAD, just based on the way they look.īelow is a great image that someone has put together of all the letters in a more classic typeface. What a great way to get a child excited about reading and learning letters, but also a away to get them to think creatively and be ready for adventure! My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!” I’m telling you this ’cause you’re one of my friends. That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z. “In the places I go there are things that I see This is the original publication without the dust jacket: This is the first time there is an illustration that goes along with the dedication. Seuss and was just Ted Geisel scribbling little doodles in his college notebook in the class they shared at Oxford. Helen always supported his creativity and encouraged him to share his silliness, so I see this as a dedication to her support and encouragement all the way from before he was Dr. She had to learn how to do everything again, walk, talk, make food, etc. She almost died from a rare disease called Guillain-Barre syndrome (ascending paralysis). They had finished Horton Hears a Who, which Helen had a lot of influence on, when Helen fell extremely ill. The dedication for this book simply reads, “To Helen.” Helen was Seuss’ first wife and was extremely ill during the time that Seuss made this book. It is also a great example of one of Seuss’ beastiary books full of creatures that Seuss created and named himself. It is all about thinking outside of the box and also having fun. It is a much lighter romp full of silliness and creativity. ![]() This book came after the heavy morals in Horton Hears a Who. By leaving the letter unnamed Seuss is leaving an opening for the reader to start using their imagination as well. In the end Conrad creates the final crazy letter showing that he has officially gone on beyond Zebra and let his imagination explode. I personally think Seuss did not name him, because the hero is actually Seuss himself, or a young Ted Geisel before he became Seuss. He is talking to the audience about his friend Conrad Cornelius O’ Donald O’ Dell, but we never learn his name. I find it interesting that the hero has no name in the book. The book ends with a dictionary of all the letters we learned about throughout Conrad and his friend’s adventures, ending with Conrad’s own letter which is left for us to name. As far as I could.Īnd I think, perhaps, maybe I did him some good…”Īnd Conrad decides the old alphabet isn’t enough and creates his own amazing new letter. ![]() There are things beyond Z that most people don’t know. “I led him around and I tried hard to show This continues all the way to the letter HI! which is used to spell High Gargel-orum. ![]() The next is WUM which you use to spell Wumbus. The first letter is a YUZZ which you use to spell Yuzz-a-ma-Tuzz. Each letter is given with an example of a creature that starts with that letter. Then Conrad’s friend shows him a whole new alphabet that goes beyond Z. But his friend, the narrator of the story, takes the chalk and draws a new letter and states, He is so proud of himself for knowing the alphabet because it means he knows everything that anyone knows, because Z is as far as the alphabet goes. The story opens with a young man named Conrad Cornelius o’Donald o’Dell telling his friend what the letters of the alphabet stand for. “The A is for Ape. New York Times Review: “Nobody could possibly have ideas in any way resembling those that occur to this talented man.” ![]()
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