Sunday, February 26, 2012

And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street

Dr. Seuss is not only an author of some of the most popular children's books of all time, but a household name that brings a smile to anyones face.

This New York Times article was written to honor the 75th anniversary of Dr. Seuss' first book, "And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street."

It grabbed my attention right away simply because of the topic it covered. I mean, come on, who doesn't love a good Dr. Seuss book? However, I felt disappointed in the delivery of the story.

I felt that the story took too many directions and didn't have a flow that kept my eyes moving through the piece. If you agree, what would you all change to make the story flow better? What did you enjoy about the story? There were quite a few things that I thought were done very well.

Do you think that the journalist brought an interesting perspective to the story seeing as it is about such a beloved author and so many years later? If not, what would you have done differently?

Finally, does the fact that it is about Dr. Seuss and the 75th anniversary of the book Mulberry Street enough to make this story newsworthy?

Here's the link to the story:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/30/education/dr-seuss-book-mulberry-street-turns-75.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=dr.seuss&st=cse

11 comments:

  1. I disagree! I loved this piece and because it was short I thought that there weren't many places to get lost. I really liked that it connected history of Mulberry St. to the stories of Dr. Seuss. I think that the story did a good of creating brief but creative descriptions that pull in the reader. When writing about Dr. Seuss, the author has to be exciting with this words and weave a tale even if it is a news piece.

    The article is "newsworthy" in a different way than we usually think. It applies to most readers because it is a part of childhood and a part of raising children. It think it should be categorized as civic journalism because it connects with the reader on a much closer level than a war in some far off country could.

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  2. I think this is something that can not be taken too seriously and should be taken for what it is, a fun ode to Dr. Seuss. This is something that everyone in this country can relate to because everyone has read his books at one point or another in their life. It is something that is playful and hits close to home. I enjoy the way the writer crafts the story and selects certain language to accomplish his goal. Overall, it was a fun read.

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  3. I have to agree with Cathryn and say I loved the piece on Dr. Seuss's Mulberry Street! The way the author depicted the relevance of the book in the article was easy to follow. I enjoyed learning how it was one of his first books he tried to publish but couldn't get it published until his friend from college helped him out.

    Even though it wasn't one of the top five popular books Dr. Seuss wrote, i liked how the author focused on this book because of its 75th anniversary, but that wasn't why it was completely newsworthy. It impacted the author directly by growing up reading it and at the end of the article, he paints a fair picture of how the beauty of writing can mask the ugliness of reality while still focusing on broader issues in the world.

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  4. I immediately turned to this piece when I saw the title of a Dr. Seuss book. It was interesting to read about all the different inspirations Dr. Seuss gained from real world objects from the area he grew up in.

    I learned more about Dr. Seuss himself in this piece. What I didn't like about the article was that the writer expected the reader to know all the names he referenced. He uses a number of people and doesn't give you a background of who they were. It made it difficult to follow. Also, he refers to the book and to the real Mulberry in the same paragraphs and it was hard to follow which one he was talking about.

    Another issue I had was the writing in the piece. The writer's sentences were very simple and it didn't seem like it was written by a professional.

    What I liked was the lead about Mr. McLain giving a tour of Mulberry Street. It gave the piece a nice touch. Also the history of Dr. Seuss and facts about his top five ranking books. I learned more about the author than what I knew before. It was interesting that some of the books had a deeper meaning behind it, it was neat to find that out.

    The piece had its ups and downs but anything supporting Dr. Seuss will catch an audience.

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  5. The title of this story and the fact that it was about Dr. Seuss immediately drew me to it. I liked how the author went back to the real Mulberry Street for inspiration for the story, even though the real Mulberry St sounds depressing and sketchy. But I'm also glad that the author didn't focus too much just on the one book, but talked about a lot of Dr. Seuss classics.

    I thought that there could have been a more in depth look at Dr. Seuss himself, instead of periodically mentioning facts about him. That being said, I think that the story still kept my attention and was a very quick read, even though it was two pages.

    I liked how the author started the story with a quote and continued the same style without, even though there was a lot of different facts and jumping around in the time frame.

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  6. I think this story really had a lot of potential. This is a topic that most people can relate to. Who didn't read Dr. Seuss growing up? I really really disliked the first person perspective for some reason. I found myself thinking, 'hey bro, I want to make up my own mind about this'. For example:

    "And while it’s not one of my favorites, I like that it hints of great things to come."
    "Anyone trying to help children write should read Dr. Seuss with them. "

    I think the writer could have filled up his space with more intriguing information about Dr. Seuss and all of the magnificent work he has done.
    I did however like the connection with Dr. Suess' Mulburry Street and the actual Mulberry street that still exists.

    I absolutely do agree with Angela that this story strayed off in some weird directions. I can vaguely see the connections but some of them were a little bit of a stretch.

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  7. Dr. Seuss' books were such a big part of the lives of many people. I think that is what makes this story newsworthy.

    I agree with Alex that we should take this as an ode to Dr. Seuss. I think it was the perfect way to acknowledge Dr. Seuss and his success and a fun article for his fans to read.

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  8. I was drawn in by the subject, but left at the end wanting more. I can see how the writer tried to tie in Dr. Suess with his background, but I think he should have gone a different way.

    I would have liked to read more information on his life and more meaning behind his book 'Mulberry Street.' It would have been interesting to interview people from the area and get their perspective on the topic, and what this story means to them.

    It was a good article idea and relevant. Most people know of Dr. Seuss and an anniversary piece makes the story newsworthy. Dr. Seuss stories will always catch an audience.

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  9. I thought it was interesting/comical how the author waited until the very last paragraph to describe the actual Mulberry Street. The fact that it is boarded-up and dangerous doesn't exactly mesh well with the children's theme of the article. With that being said I thought it was an enjoyable article. Although I'm not too familiar with Seuss books myself, it was fun to imagine all the silly creatures and names.

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  10. I'm not sure if this was done intentionally, but when I read this story, I felt that the writer was attempting, in some way, to channel the spirit of Dr Seuss. His style jumps around quite a bit. He jumps into a personal anecdote, then to a fact, then a quote, then back to him, then around again, then to an excerpt from a Dr Seuss book, and so on...

    It seems to me that the writer was trying to be silly, as he would define Dr Seuss as, but also to be informative. I really liked this story. He took the world of Dr Seuss and brought it to life. By comparing the real street to the street in the book, we see the contrast. We realize the magic of what he did in his books. He took something unhappy--possibly dark, impoverished, upset, essentially realistic--and made it fantastic. He made it fun, and this is why he is still loved so much today. For taking the world and spinning it around, jumping around, into his own thing, something that can be appreciated not just by children but by everyone--for its silliness. I think the writer did a good job of presenting this

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  11. I agree that the author was all over the place with this story. However,I loved all the points he was making and I feel that he was just trying to bring several different angles to this story. I would have liked to see him transition between points better or even better idea, split up his points all together and have a little mini series about it leading up to his birthday because I feel like he had a lot to say and could have made a lot of shorter articles on it.
    The story is newsworthy BECAUSE it's the 75th anniversary of the book and once again, I think that it would have been great to have a mini series on the book because of it. Overall although it was kind of junky, I enjoyed it, but then again who doesn't enjoy anything about the good doctor?

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