Mulberry Street is a most special place
And not just because there's a band and a bass!
Marco's tale of the things that he sees
Is a first (very first) for Seuss—oh geez!

You see: Seuss wrote for grown-ups before this
But something, he felt, was a little amiss
So he wrote this story full of pictures and rhymes
And was rejected a staggering twenty-seven times!

But thank goodness, oh joy, it became a real book,
And like Marco, we should scramble to take a quick look
There are fantastic things to be seen in great measure
And the pictures are also quite a real treasure.

Marco sees an old wagon on Mulberry Street
And turns it into something that's really quite neat.
He lets his imagination take flight,
And soon Mulberry Street is a place of delight.

There are zebras and brass bands and even a plane.
The parade of new sights is quite frankly insane.
From a horse and a wagon to a full-on affair,
Marco's wacky brain takes the street anywhere!

At the end of the day, though, he doesn't reveal
To his father or mother the whole zany spiel.
It's his little secret, his magic creation,
That's led to this whole delightful narration!

If you are a lover of history at all, then And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street is pretty critical for your inner Seuss scholar. After all, it is Seuss's very first children's book and had it not been accepted (after twenty-seven rejections), we may never have been introduced to the genius of Seuss's children's literature.

This is a story to teach kids how to tell stories. It delves deep into the joy of creating a narrative and coming up with your own fun version of what happens. Marco starts off with a pretty ho-hum tale, but ends up with something fantastic and just a little bit magical. The book emphasizes the greatness of telling stories—Marco is able to change the way that he sees the world, and it is telling stories that gives him the power to make the changes that he deems necessary. He doesn't have to accept the world as it is; instead he can make it a far better place.

All those times you sit down with the "What I did over summer vacation" assignment (yawn) would be much more fun with a "What I wish I did over summer vacation" prompt instead. This is a book that will get your kid reading out loud… and thinking about how he or she can change the ending.

Why Should Your Kids Care?

Are you a fibber? Have you ever told a lie so white that it burned your eyes when you looked at it? Well, if you find the allure of the harmless lie just irresistible, then this is the book for you. In And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, the main character, Marco, is a kid who just won't quit it with the whoppers. He talks of elephants and brass bands going down the street, of parades and people riding giraffes… we mean, it almost gets a little overwhelming.

But the book isn't trying to shake a finger at you and tell you that you should keep that imagination under wraps and never, ever tell a fantastically untrue tale. No way. It celebrates that wild and wonderful imagination that you and other kids have and encourages you to foster it. After all—a wagon with a horse going down the road is a total snoozefest. But if you throw in a motorcade, giraffes, and a confetti spitting plane… well, then you've got yourself a real story.