Your Name ____Max Alligood_______________________ Date ____10/16/14_________ Genre:

______Classic Picture Book_____________

Literary Analysis
Bibliographic I nformation:
Seuss, Dr. . Oh, the places you'll go!. New York: Random House, 1990. Print.
Plot:
Tells a good story- Oh, the places youll go! Tells a wonderful story about YOU! Its a great literary
work by Dr. Seuss that focuses on you, the reader. The story contains motivation for the reader and
literally shows them how they can do anything and everything.
Original Plot- Like most Seuss books, this one has a very fresh and original story to it. You follow along
yourself as the story shows and explains to you the endless possibilities in life. Its not all up, up, up in
life though as Seuss actually shows and explains there are plenty down, down, downs in life as well.

Setting:
Take Place- The story takes place in Seuss world. An imaginary land where Cats are in Hats, and Things
come in twos and sometimes threes.
Affect- The affect the story has on the Characters in this Seuss tale is that instead of showing the reader
real life places they will go, they are shown wonderful and exotic fantastical places in Seuss world. While
Seuss world is completely fictional, in this book it represents endless possibilities.
Theme:
Theme worth imparting to children-The theme in Oh, the places youll go! is to not give up, youll
have ups and downs but if you keep plugging you can and will be successful. Success of the reader is
repeated throughout the book and its praise and encouragement of the reader is very evident.
Overpowering- The theme overpowers the story, mainly because the story is completely centralized
around it. There is not much to the plot, no character development as the story just takes you on a ride of
not giving up, and that you can do anything.
Characterization:
Character Development- There is no real character development in this book. The main character (you)
does deal with failure but in this 3
rd
person omniscient point of view you just watch him (you) keep
plugging along and eventually succeed.
Not much else- I was unable to analyze characterization further in this book because there are very few
characters. I think the focus of the book is not the characters but the journey itself so to me thats why
there arent much to the characters.
Style:

Straightforward: The writing in this story is very straightforward. Readers will not be
wondering what is going on in the story and it is very easy to read. The text is in big font. The
pictures are separate from the text.

Mood- The mood in the book is one that exudes joy. The different lands and places that although are
sometimes scary or strange, are always elaborate; fantastic, colorful and exciting. We are
Point of View:
Appropriate- The point of view in this book is very appropriate for the purpose of this book. The reader
reads about a Seuss version of essentially himself or herself.
Why the author Chose it- I think this point of view was chosen as a way to show the reader that his or
herself is at the focus of the story, in a fun way.
Describe Characteristics of this text specific to the genre:
Style of illustrations- The illustrations in Oh! The Places youll go are very colorful and fun. That is
what Dr. Seuss books are about. They are magically crazy but feel realistic.
Size of the Book- The size of the book seems appropriate to the content of the book. Its an oversized
book perfect for reading to younger students with whom the message will sit well with.
Overall Evaluation- This book has made a contribution to the growing body of childrens lit and I feel it
will continue to be a very important part of the Seuss Collection.

Reflections: (What are your impressions? Connections to past or future plans? Insights?, etc.)
I chose this book as my personal favorite Seuss book. I first read it in 1
st
grade and I have owned
it ever since. I have seriously read this book when I was down, or when I felt like I had failed at
something. This book provides inspiration, motivation and a calming sense that everything is
going to be okay. Always. I definitely plan on incorporating this in my classroom. No matter if
its primary or intermediate there is room for this book in the curriculum.