Dr. Seuss and the 236 Words that Changed Reading Forever

JF Ptak Science Books

I think that it is difficult to overstate the importance and long-term significance of Dr. Seuss' (Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904-1991, son and grandson of brewmasters) contribution to childhood.  I think that it is impossible to calculate the overall impact of his bringing young people to the joy of reading, and to the familiarization  with the bare mechanics of how to read.  Of course he told a great story, but his books were literally page-tuners—they were simply written with words useful to children, with few words per page, thereby allowing the child to see the pictures, read all of the words, and turn the page, giving them a sense of accomplishment along with enjoying  a fine story.   Perhaps it is the getting-the-kids-used –to-reading that was his most fantastic accomplishment—and something that few others have achieved, measuring by just pure numbers. 

And the way in which he did this was to artistically use an extremely limited budget of words—Dr. Seuss used precisely 236 different words to write The Cat in the Hat.

It is certainly true that there have been many sparse, relatively wispy papers in the history of science form which enormous change has sprung..   Pound-for-pound though The Cat in the Hat holds its own. 

I’ll give the entire list of words below—just have a peek, and try to imagine writing something interesting with just this palette. 

It isn’t fair at all to compare this masterpiece with others in different genres, but just to give you an idea of its relative simplicity I’ll quote some numbers taken from an incredible study conducted by Zachary Booth Simpson (“Vocabulary Analysis of Project Gutenberg”).  Simpson’s interpretation is more complex than the story I’ll tell here, but basically he looks at the numbers of words in a piece of literature (for example) and then convenes the number of different words, deducing the actual and then relative density of word usage, which is pretty interesting (and verifies that pit-of-the-stomach feeling about which authors use more words in smaller space). 

Gibbon’s Decline and Fall seems to lead the way in the absolute number of different words used (43,113!!, which is astonishing), in the 1.5 million word text, while old Uncle Bill uses 4,842 words in the 32,000-word Hamlet—meaning that Measure for Measure (sorry) Mr. Gibbon out-Bills Bill, which I thought was very hard to do.  Other interesting bits are Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Doolittle, who tells the story with 2759 words; Moby Dick, told with a spectrum of 17,227 words; and Les Miserables is painted with 23,334 different words.  The only work that comes close to Seuss in Mr. Simpson’s very considerable list is the New McGuffey Reader, which is really, actually, a tough go, and uses 630 words.

Unfortunately I do not know about the Dick and Jane readers But they’re no match whatsoever for the Good Doctor.

So my hat is off and off and off to Theodor Geisel, aka Dr.Seuss—on the anniversary of his anniversary in Seussland, where it is Seussqunetennial every day.

Seuss' 236 words used in the Cat in the Hat:
A
About
After
All
Always
And
Another
Any
Are
As
Asked
At
Away
Back
Bad
Ball
Be
Bed
Bent
Bet
Big
Bit
Bite
Book
Books
Bow
Box
Bump
Bumps
But
Cake
Call
Came
Can
Cat
Cold
Come
Could
Cup
Day
Dear
Deep
Did
Dish
Do
Dots
Down
Fall
Fan
Fast
Fear
Fell
Find
Fish
Fly
For
Fox
From
Fun
Funny
Game
Games
Gave
Get
Give
Go
Gone
Good
Got
Gown
Had
Hall
Hand
Hands
Has
Hat
Have
He
Head
Hear
Her
Here
High
Him
His
Hit
Hold
Home
Hook
Hop
Hops
House
How
I
If
In
Into
Is
It
Jump
Jumps
Kicks
Kind
Kinds
Kite
Kites
Know
Last
Let
Like
Lit
Little
Look
Looked
Lot
Lots
Made
Make
Man
Mat
Me
Mess
Milk
Mind
Mother
Mother’s
My
Near
Net
New
No
Not
Nothing
Now
Of
Oh
On
One
Our
Out
Pack
Pat
Pick
Picked
Pink
Play
Playthings
Plop
Pot
Put
Rake
Ran
Red
Rid
Run
Sad
Said
Sally
Sank
Sat
Saw
Say
See
Shake
Shame
She
Shine
Ship
Shook
Should
Show
Shut
Sit
So
Some
Something
Stand
Step
Stop
String
Strings
Sun
Sunny
Tail
Take
Tall
Tame
Tell
That
The
Their
Them
Then
There
These
They
Thing
Things
Think
This
Those
Thump
Thumps
Tip
To
Too
Top
Toy
Trick
Tricks
Two
Up
Us
Wall
Want
Was
Way
We
Well
Went
Were
Wet
What
When
White
Who
Why
Will
Wish
With
Wood
Would
Yes
Yet
You
Your

 

Comments

[jasper]

I wonder if it is the same number in french or any other language into which the book has been translated. I shall have to sit down and count them.

[Gwyn Michael]

If you look at my facebook profile you will see I recommend Dr. Seuss. I find him an essential part of my adult library. Good medicine for gray days!!!