Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for February 2014

5 on Friday: Dr. Seuss books I love as an adult (that I never read as a kid)

Last month we took our kids to see Seussical the Musical at a local college. They loved every minute of it and sang the songs for weeks afterwards.

I grew up on Dr. Seuss (who didn’t?!). Before I was reading I could “read” One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and recite Green Eggs and Ham. (Our kindergartener read Green Eggs and Ham by herself last week. I had a moment.) And of course, I was familiar with the Grinch thanks to television. But it wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized these favorites were just the tip of the Dr. Seuss iceberg! And they might not even be his best works.

Tomorrow, we’re headed to a library celebration for Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss’ birthday.

In the meantime, here are five Dr. Seuss books I’ve discovered as an adult that I’m so glad I’ve read to my kids.

1. The Lorax. I’ll admit it: we saw the movie before we read the book. But oh. my. word. The message in this book is far ahead of its time: taking care of the natural resources and created world around us before it’s all gone. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot …”

seuss pool

2. McElligott’s Pool. This was my husband’s favorite as a child, and he brought a copy into our marriage. I’d never heard of it, but again, it’s one of those books that is rich with deeper meaning. I love that Dr. Seuss’ themes include free thinking and openmindedness and encouraging creativity, even if others tell you that’s wrong.

3. Oh! The Places You’ll Go. It’s possible I first heard this at a high school graduation. It fits that setting but it’s appropriate beyond that.

4. And To Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street. Imagination can turn an ordinary day into something extraordinary.

seuss fly a jet5. Maybe You Should Fly a Jet! Maybe You Should Be a Vet! My kids love this one, too. We first found it at the library. It’s good for introducing kids to a wide variety of professions and encourages them to think big and not let other people limit their dreams.

What are your favorite Dr. Seuss books?

When simple is not the same as easy: Review of Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider

After reading a book about simple living, my thoughts are anything but simple.

notes blue bikeIn her memoirish book Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World, Tsh Oxenreider lays out a blueprint for living a life with purpose. Because, honestly, aren’t most of us just drifting wherever the current takes us? (Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from Thomas Nelson through the BookLook Blogger Program in exchange for my review.)

Oxenreider and her family have lived overseas and in the States. They’ve homeschooled and public schooled. They’ve worked “regular” jobs and started their own business. They’ve traveled extensively. They’ve paid off debt. And though all of that is part of their journey to live a more simple and more intentional life, none of it was, or is, easy.

And that’s a major plus to this book. I’ve read other books on simple living that are more legalistic manifesto than guided invitation. Notes from a Blue Bike is the latter. Oxenreider doesn’t pretend that what has worked for their family will work for every family, but she encourages families to make a plan for intentional living. Because being intentional won’t just happen.

The book is divided into sections–food, work, education, travel, and entertainment–and in each one, the author draws from her family’s experiences and how they arrived at the current stage of their journey. After the food section, I was so inspired that I was ready to make sweeping changes to our family’s eating habits and food purchases. Now that I’m finished with the book, I’m taking seriously her encouragement to identify our family’s core values so we can make decisions based on those values.

I’ve dog-eared as many pages as not during my reading, and I’d encourage any who has dreamed of living a more intentional life but can’t figure out how to do it, to get a copy of this book. But be warned: it won’t be easy. Oxenreider confesses that living more slowly, more simply and more intentionally was easier when they lived overseas. American culture is not always conducive to this type of life and making changes will seem like swimming upstream at times.

That doesn’t scare me. It excites me.

Notes from a Blue Bike is in the top tier of the best nonfiction books I’ve read this year and would make my list for most influential books I’ve ever read.

You can read more about the author at her Website here or at The Art of Simple, a blog she directs on this topic.