The Butter Battle Book

Rating:
Summary: Something to think about
Review: Before I get into my review, let me start by saying I missed the Cold War, except for in school history books. That being said, this is an excellent and thought-provoking book for 'kids' of all ages.

This book is about 2 groups, the Yooks and the Zooks, who live separated only by a wall, and are very similar except for the way they butter their bread. This leads to a battle involving constantly bigger weapons, until they come up with the 'big-boy boomeroo', capable of destroying each other's lands. Of course, the book ends before the story does, leaving you guessing on exactly what would happen.

I went through a few stages with this book, making it even better to think about. The first time I heard it, I was about 5, and upset that there was no 'ending'. After a few more times, I decided to use my imagination to create my own ending, which is what many children will do if encouraged by a parent reading with them. As I got older, I realized there was no ending because if it was real, you really wouldn't know how it ended until it happened. This book also made me think about how small differences in people can cause such big problems if you are not open minded. (That was after a few years - in the beginning I wondered why the Zooks didn't just turn their bread upside down and everyone would be the same).

The Butter Battle Book is a wonderful lesson, written in a way that even a child could understand the concept of war, see how differences in people can cause foolish problems, and use their imaginations. I would recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: The Real Slim Seuss
Review: Dr. Seuss is a fantastic author; he has imagination, story-telling abilities, and a wonderful and clever sense of political activism. I was telling my history teacher about all the not-so-hidden political messages in all of his works and this work is the perfect example of Dr. Seuss's writing style. The Butter Battle Book has many different levels for what is so often called a children's book from an acclaimed so-called children's author. The battle between Yooks and Zooks over which way butter goes on bread gives children a good, simple, but true story about dealing with petty differences in a constructive way. Otherwise, bad things can happen, like war. That meaning is very good for children to learn and this is a great book to teach kids with. However, adults reading this book can see the obvious historical parallels and the deeper implications of the story line. The pettiness behind the conflict of the Cold War is Dr. Seuss's vehicle for conveying the astounding destructive potential behind a war where the enemies lose sight of their true goals and meaninglessly try to 'out do' each other. The war ends up getting fought for the wrong reasons and something that we will forever regret and can never take back may happen. This is a very real danger and the prejudice attached to battles like the one in this book eat away at our morals, our societies, and our motives. Dr. Seuss has done the world a wonderful lesson by showing this to children and adults alike.

Rating:
Summary: Trivializes a serious matter
Review: Looking at the evil regime that was once the Soviet Union, and what it stood for - repression, intolerance, etc - I find it a bit insulting that what was a significant dipute over fundamental doctrine and ideology (indeed, diametrically opposed concepts)is compared to a silly dispute over butter. This is a diservice to what our country stands for, and for what many Americans died for during the Cold War.

Rating:
Summary: Butter Battle Book Review
Review: The Butter Battle Book, written by Dr. Seuss is an exellent display of his own thoughts on the nuclear war. This book helps inform young audiences about our nation's history in a way that they can understand. Although this is a childen's book, it is great reading for all agaes, and really hits home for those who have memories of the Cold War. The disagreement between the Yooks and the Zooks expresses how they both think bread should be buttered. One "butter-side up" and the other "butter-side down." The controversey, turning into a battle shows Dr. Seuss' dislike for generic disputes. The Yooks and the Zooks hurry to develop more powerful weapons, until; both groups take it to an extreme. The underlying theme to the book is the absuridity of battle. Dr. Seuss tries to convey that people must overcome their pride to live in peace. Memories of the Cold War like the wall dividing the Yooks and Zooks add to the realistic element to The Butter Battle Book.

Rating:
Summary: Seuss's darkest and most political work
Review: The title above should be prefaced by 'as far as I know', since I haven't read everything by Dr. Seuss, but anyway...

This book tries to show the folly of war, specifically the cold war, and arms races, by all of Dr. Seuss's usual tricks: the creation of new words for objects representative of things in our own world, and beautiful, colorful environments which act as twisted mirror images of our own world. The book also, however, can be viewed as showing the necessity of arms races, since, as the book implies, if one side doesn't match the threat of the other, than the other will strike. The only problem I see with it though, is that the entire book, especially the ending, might be a bit too much for younger kids, which is what Dr. Seuss's audiance has become. Sadly older children (10 to 12) would probably much rather read something that seems more mature, since by this age they're perfectly capable of reading chapter books.

A surprisingly well writen political commentary by a children's author, The Butter Battle Book can easily be viewed as a Seuss classic.

Rating:
Summary: Bet your sweet Bippie---Butter Battle is the Best!
Review: This one was recommended by a friend who is also an "older" kid at heart when I told him The Lorax is my favorite Seuss book. Makes a great gift for a kid or a kid at heart. And who can beat the great Seuss illustrations!

Rating:
Summary: The Butter Battle Book
Review: Unlike any of his other books, Dr. Suess's "The Butter Battle Book" is as close to an anti-war book as any children's text could be. It tells of two warring countries divided by a great wall. The similarity between the East and the West of pre-fall of the Berlin Wall is evident to the plot.

The Zooks on one side of the wall eat their bread with the butter side down; the Yooks on the side eat their bread with the butter side up. This is the reason for the conflict. Each side feels that theirs is the correct manner for eating bread. Becoming suspicious of each other, they construct this wall and devise military means to defend themselves from any attack from the other side. Humorously, the author portrays military strategists as obsessive little men that endlessly work in backrooms creating greater weapons of destruction.

The story ends with the two opposing generals facing each other with the ultimate bomb that will destroy the enemy's land. The grandson of one general asks the question, "Who's going to drop it?" The reply is, "Be patient...we will see."
A powerful statement is this for it raises questions about our own relationship in the World Order. Dr. Suess, known for his whimsical excursion into fantasy and lyrical rhyme, has not abandoned these elements. He has just expanded his horizons by writing a children's book for adults. This work should be required reading for military and government leaders worldwide!

The theme of acceptance of differences is the key to this story. When one realizes this, then peace truly will exist on this planet.

How necessary is this since the event of 9/11!

Rating:
Summary: Spreading peace and not putting it on so "thick"
Review: Unlike any of his other books, Dr. Suess's "The Butter Battle Book" is as close to an anti-war book as any children's text could be. It tells of two warring countries divided by a great wall. The similarity between the East and the West of pre-fall of the Berlin Wall is evident to the plot.

The Zooks on one side of the wall eat their bread with the butter side down; the Yooks on the side eat their bread with the butter side up. This is the reason for the conflict. Each side feels that theirs is the correct manner for eating bread. Becoming suspicious of each other, they construct this wall and devise military means to defend themselves from any attack from the other side. Humorously, the author portrays military strategists as obsessive little men that endlessly work in backrooms creating greater weapons of destruction.

The story ends with the two opposing generals facing each other with the ultimate bomb that will destroy the enemy's land. The grandson of one general asks the question, "Who's going to drop it?" The reply is, "Be patient...we will see."
A powerful statement is this for it raises questions about our own relationship in the World Order. Dr. Suess, known for his whimsical excursion into fantasy and lyrical rhyme, has not abandoned these elements. He has just expanded his horizons by writing a children's book for adults. This work should be required reading for military and government leaders worldwide!

The theme of acceptance of differences is the key to this story. When one realizes this, then peace truly will exist on this planet.

How necessary is this since the event of 9/11!

Rating:
Summary: Trivializes a serious matter
Review: While I love Dr. Seuss, I cannot believe that he trivializes the Cold War in the way that he does with this book. The much hated "arms race" was a race to protect ourselves and was a race that we not only won, but a race that also brought down the Soviet Union. Ironically, we won it because we outspent the Soviets. We outspent the Soviets because capitalism creates wealth. The fight between capitalism, which allows freedom, and the crushing weight of communism, which ideology has systematically killed more humans than any other in the last century, is not boiled down to something as simple as butter on bread. Buy one of his other books-the non-political type.