Green Eggs and Ham

Green Eggs and Ham is a children's book by Dr. Seuss, first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2019, the book has sold 8 million copies worldwide.[1] The story has appeared in several adaptations, starting with 1973's Dr. Seuss on the Loose starring Paul Winchell as the voice of both Sam-I-Am and the first-person narrator, Guy-Am-I,[2] and more recently an animated TV series of the same name on Netflix starring the voices of Adam DeVine as Sam and Michael Douglas as Guy.

For the television series, see Green Eggs and Ham (TV series). For the video game, see Dr. Seuss: Green Eggs and Ham (video game).

Green Eggs and Ham
AuthorDr. Seuss
Cover artistDr. Seuss
CountryAmerica
LanguageEnglish
SeriesBeginner Books
GenreChildren's literature
PublisherRandom House
The Living Books Company
Publication date
August 12, 1960
ISBN978-0-394-80016-5
OCLC184476
Preceded byOne Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish 
Followed byThe Sneetches and Other Stories 

Plot

A character named "Sam-I-Am" pesters an unnamed character to eat a dish of green eggs and ham. However he refuses while responding, “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.” He continues to repeat similar responses while Sam persistently follows him. In exasperation, he finally accepts Sam’s offer and samples the green eggs and ham. When he finds that he likes them, he ends the story, saying, "I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you. Thank you, Sam-I-Am."

Background

Green Eggs and Ham is one of Seuss's "Beginner Books", written with very simple vocabulary for beginning readers. The vocabulary of the text consists of just 50 words[3] and was the result of a bet between Seuss and Bennett Cerf, Dr. Seuss's publisher,[3][4][5] that Seuss (after completing The Cat in the Hat using 236 words)[6] could not complete an entire book without exceeding that limit. The 50 words are: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.[3]

Reception and cultural impact
Woman reading and showing Green Eggs and Ham to children.

Green Eggs and Ham was published on August 12, 1960.[7][8] By 2001 it had become the fourth-best selling English-language children's hardcover book yet written.[9][10] As of 2014 the book has sold 8 million copies. In 1999 the National Education Association (NEA) conducted an online survey of children and teachers, seeking the 100 most popular children's books. The children ranked Green Eggs and Ham third, just above another Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat.[11] The teachers ranked it fourth.[12] Teachers ranked it fourth again in a 2007 NEA poll.[13] Scholastic Parent & Child magazine placed it #7 among the "100 Greatest Books for Kids" in 2012.[14] That same year, it was ranked number 12 among the "Top 100 Picture Books" in a survey published by School Library Journal – the first of five Dr. Seuss books on the list.[15]

The book has become sufficiently ingrained in the cultural consciousness that U.S. District Court Judge James Muirhead referenced Green Eggs and Ham in his September 21, 2007, court ruling after receiving an egg in the mail from prisoner Charles Jay Wolff who was protesting against the prison diet. Muirhead ordered the egg destroyed and rendered his judgment in the style of Seuss.[16][17] Senator Ted Cruz read the book on the floor of the United States Senate during his filibuster over the funding of Obamacare.[18] Musician will.i.am has stated that his moniker is inspired by the story.[19]

On September 29, 1991, following Dr. Seuss' death earlier that week, the Reverend Jesse Jackson recited an excerpt of Green Eggs and Ham on Saturday Night Live during a special tribute segment.[20]

Adaptations

Animated TV Special
  • In 1973, “Green Eggs and Ham” became the third of the three Theodor Geisel stories to be adapted into the television special Dr. Seuss on the Loose, which featured a connecting narration by The Cat In The Hat. (The Sneetches and The Zax were the other two.)

Song
  • The song "Green Eggs and Ham" was recorded by the band Moxy Früvous on their 1992 independent debut album Moxy Früvous and is a rap treatment of the famous story. The Punk Wave band Vader Vader also recorded an unreleased demo of "Green Eggs and Ham" as well as a video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AiskTjoDPg

PC
  • The book was also made into a Living Books adaptation for the PC in 1996, and there were similar differences to reflect the new media such as Sam-I-Am sings his opening lines.

Television series

Live-Action
  • The book was also featured as one of the segments brought to life via live-action in a stage-play fashion in the 1994 TV film In Search of Dr. Seuss.

VHS
  • In VHS/DVD (Beginner Book Video), the book had included two other stories, The Tooth Book & Ten Apples Up On Top.

Selected translations
  • לֹא רָעֵב וְלֹא אוֹהֵב (Lo ra'ev ve-lo ohev, 1960, Hebrew ISBN 9789652294661)
  • Huevos verdes con jamón (1960, Spanish, ISBN 1880507013)
  • Groene eieren met ham (1960s, Dutch, ISBN 9024002966)
  • 火腿加綠蛋 (Huǒ tuǐ jiā lǜ dàn, 1992, Chinese, ISBN 9573211254)
  • Prosciutto e uova verdi (2002, Italian, ISBN 880902446X)
  • Virent ova! Viret perna! (2003, Latin, ISBN 0865165556)
  • Kto zje zielone jajka sadzone? (2004, Polish, ISBN 8372781249)
  • Les œufs verts au jambon (2009, French, ISBN 9781569756881)
  • Grünes Ei mit Speck (2011, German, ISBN 9783596854417)

References
  1. "20 Best-Selling Children's Books of All Time". HowStuffWorks. December 9, 2011.
  2. "Dr. Seuss on the Loose". IMDb. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  3. "10 stories behind Dr. Seuss stories". CNN. January 23, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
  4. "Green Eggs and Ham". snopes.com. 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  5. "99 Interesting Facts about the world #18". All That is Interesting. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  6. Daven, Hiskey (May 24, 2011). "Dr. Seuss Wrote "Green Eggs and Ham" on a Bet that He Couldn't Write a Book with 50 or Fewer Words". TodayIFoundOut.com.
  7. A 50 -year feast in 50 words Archived August 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Marketplace. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  8. "Happy Birthday Sam-I-Am! 50 Years of Green Eggs and Ham". Gnews. 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  9. "All-Time Bestselling Children's Books". Publishers Weekly. December 17, 2001. Archived from the original on December 25, 2005.
  10. Menand, Louis. "A Critic at Large: Cat People: What Dr. Seuss Really Taught Us". The New Yorker. December 23, 2002.
  11. Kids' top 100 books Archived February 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine NEA: National Education Association. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
  12. "Teachers' Top 100 Books". NEA: National Education Association. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
  13. National Education Association (2007). "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  14. "Parent & Child 100 Greatest Books for Kids" (PDF). Scholastic Corporation. 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  15. Bird, Elizabeth (July 6, 2012). "Top 100 Picture Books Poll Results". A Fuse #8 Production. Blog. School Library Journal (blog.schoollibraryjournal.com). Archived from the original on December 4, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  16. "Judge makes 'Green Eggs and Ham' ruling". NBC News.
  17. "ORDER the egg filed by the plaintiff is to be destroyed re: 55 Motion for Contempt, injunction", Wolff v. NH Department of Corrections et al (Case 1:2006cv00321), September 18, 2007, Filing 56
  18. Fitzpatrick, Meagan (September 25, 2013). "Why Ted Cruz read Green Eggs and Ham in the U.S. Senate". CBC.
  19. Solomon, Deborah (January 20, 2011). "Questions for Will.i.am". New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  20. Maggin, Alice (August 13, 2010). "Dr. Seuss' 'Green Eggs and Ham' Turns 50". ABC News.
  21. Andreeva, Nellie (April 29, 2015). "Netflix Picks Up 'Green Eggs and Ham' Animated Series From Ellen DeGeneres". Deadline. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
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