Green Eggs and Ham

Green Eggs and Ham is a best-selling and critically acclaimed children's book by Dr. Seuss, first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2001, according to Publishers Weekly, it was the fourth best-selling English-language children's book of all time. The story has appeared in several animated videos starting with 1973's Dr. Seuss on the Loose: The Sneetches, The Zax; Green Eggs and Ham starring Paul Winchell as the voice of both Sam-I-am and the first-person narrating man.

Storyline
A character known as "Sam-I-Am" pesters an unnamed character, who also serves as the story's narrator, to sample a dish of green eggs and ham. The unnamed character refuses, responding, "I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-Am." He continues to repeat this as Sam follows him, encouraging him to sample them in several locations (house, box, car, tree, train, dark, rain and boat), all to which the unnamed character refuses responding, "I would not like them here (Current location) or there (Previous location). I would not like them anywhere!" and with several animals (mouse, fox, goat). Finally, the unnamed character gives into Sam's pestering and samples the green eggs and ham, which he finds that he does like after all in the end and happily responds, "I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you. Thank you, Sam-I-Am."

Vocabulary
Green Eggs and Ham is one of Seuss's "Beginner Books", written in a very simple vocabulary for beginning readers.

The vocabulary of the text consists of just fifty different words and was the result of a bet between Seuss and Bennett Cerf (Dr. Seuss's publisher) that Seuss (after completing The Cat in the Hat using 225 words) could not complete an entire book using so few words.

The fifty 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.

Reception
Green Eggs and Ham was first published on August 12, 1960, and became the fourth-best selling English-language children's hardcover book of all time. In 1999, the National Education Association (NEA) conducted an online survey of children and teachers, seeking the 100 most popular children's books. On the children's list, Green Eggs and Ham was ranked third, just above another Dr. Seuss book, The Cat in the Hat; teachers ranked it fourth. It ranked fourth again among teachers in a 2007 NEA poll. It was one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal. Scholastic Parent & Child magazine placed it #7 on its list of "100 Greatest Books for Kids" in 2012.

Adaptations and tributes

 * Green Eggs and Ham is the third of the three Geisel stories that were adapted into the television special Dr. Seuss on the Loose, which featured a connecting narration by The Cat In The Hat, in 1973. (The Sneetches and The Zax were the other two.)


 * On September 29, 1991, after Dr. Seuss died at the age of 87 on the 24th, the Rev. Jesse Jackson read an excerpt of Green Eggs and Ham on Saturday Night Live during the Weekend Update section.


 * 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.


 * On September 21, 2007, U.S. District Court Judge James Muirhead referenced Green Eggs and Ham in his 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 as he stated in his judgment in the style of Seuss:


 * I do not like eggs in the file.
 * I do not like them in any style.
 * I will not take them fried or boiled.
 * I will not take them poached or broiled.


 * I will not take them soft or scrambled,
 * Despite an argument well-rambled.
 * No fan I am of the egg at hand.


 * Destroy that egg! Today! Today!
 * Today I say!
 * Without delay!

Temporary ban
In 1965, the children's novel was banned in the People's Republic of China for its "portrayal of early Marxism". The ban was lifted in 1991, following Seuss' death.

Selected translations

 * Lo ra`ev ve-lo ohev (1960, Hebrew)
 * Huevos verdes con jamón (1960, Spanish, ISBN 1880507013)
 * Groene eieren met ham (1960s, Dutch, ISBN 9024002966)
 * Huo tui jia lu dan (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 oeufs verts au jambon (2009, French, ISBN 9781569756881)
 * Grünes Ei mit Speck das Allerbeste (2011, German, ISBN 9783596854417)