Green Eggs and Ham facts for kids
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| Author | Dr. Seuss |
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| Illustrator | Dr. Seuss |
| Cover artist | Dr. Seuss |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Beginner Books |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Random House |
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Publication date
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August 12, 1960 |
| ISBN | 978-0-394-80016-5 |
| OCLC | 184476 |
| Preceded by | One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish |
| Followed by | The Sneetches and Other Stories |
Green Eggs and Ham is a very popular children's book written by Dr. Seuss. It was first published on August 12, 1960, by Random House. The story follows a character named Sam-I-am. He keeps asking an unnamed man if he would like to try some green eggs and ham. Even though the man says no many times, Sam-I-am never gives up!
Dr. Seuss started writing Green Eggs and Ham after his editor, Bennett Cerf, made a bet with him. Cerf bet Seuss $50 (which was worth about $520 in 1960) that he couldn't write a fun children's book using only 50 different words. Seuss found this challenge quite hard. He used notes and lists to keep track of his progress. The book is often praised for its clever writing and fun pictures. It is seen as a big success for the 50-word challenge.
Green Eggs and Ham has been made into different shows and games. This includes a television series that came out in 2019.
Contents
What the Story Is About
The story begins with Sam-I-am offering an unnamed man a plate of green eggs and ham. The man quickly says he does not like the food. But Sam-I-am is determined! He follows the man everywhere. He asks him to try the food in many different places. He also suggests eating it with various animals.
Finally, the man agrees to try the dish Sam-I-am has offered. To his surprise, he discovers that he really does like green eggs and ham! He then thanks Sam-I-am for convincing him.
How the Book Was Written
Theodor Seuss Geisel, known as Dr. Seuss, wrote Green Eggs and Ham. He wrote it because of a bet with his editor, Bennett Cerf, at Random House. The bet was that Seuss could not write an interesting children's book using only 50 different words. This bet came after Seuss's earlier success, The Cat in the Hat, which used 236 different words.
Seuss took many notes to figure out how to use only 50 words. He made charts and lists to help him. By the time he finished, he knew exactly how many times he used each word.
Green Eggs and Ham uses exactly 50 words: 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, and you. The word not appears the most, used 82 times. Anywhere is the only word in the book with more than one syllable.
Dr. Seuss found this word limit very challenging. He rewrote many pages until he was happy with the rhymes. His wife, Helen Palmer, sometimes put his discarded drafts back on his desk. She hoped he might like them after looking again, but he rarely did.
In early versions of the story, the unnamed man spoke more angrily to Sam-I-am. Dr. Seuss changed these parts to make the man's words less harsh. For example, he changed "I do not like you, Sam-I-am" to something softer. Also, early drafts called the food green ham and eggs instead of green eggs and ham.
Dr. Seuss finished writing Green Eggs and Ham in the spring of 1960. The book was published on August 12, 1960. By that time, about three million Dr. Seuss books had already been sold.
Impact and Popularity
In 1967, Green Eggs and Ham was the best-selling children's book. By the end of 2000, it had sold over 8 million copies. This made it Dr. Seuss's most popular book. It was also the fourth best-selling hardcover children's book ever in the United States.
At Dartmouth College, Dr. Seuss's old school, people joked that the book's title was about the breakfast food served there. When Dr. Seuss received a special award from Princeton University in 1985, the graduating students stood up. They recited the entire Green Eggs and Ham book for him! Dr. Seuss later said he often received gifts of green eggs and ham, which he found "deplorable." However, he also said it was the only one of his books that still made him laugh.
The Green Eggs and Ham Cafe opened at the Universal Islands of Adventure theme park in 1999. It serves the famous green eggs and ham, along with other foods from Dr. Seuss's books. The cafe closed for a few years but reopened in 2019.
The book has even been mentioned in serious places. A U.S. judge once wrote a court ruling in the style of Dr. Seuss. Senator Ted Cruz read the book aloud in the United States Senate during a long speech. Musician will.i.am said his name was inspired by the story.
Many funny versions of Green Eggs and Ham have been made. These include a rap song by Moxy Früvous and a comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live.
Adaptations
Green Eggs and Ham has been made into stage shows and TV versions.
- In 1973, it was part of an animated TV special. This special was first called Dr. Seuss on the Loose. It was later renamed Green Eggs and Ham and Other Stories.
- A video game based on the book was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. It was called Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham.
- A new TV show was released by Netflix in 2019. It is also called Green Eggs and Ham. In this show, Adam DeVine voices Sam-I-am. Michael Douglas voices the unnamed man, who is called Guy-Am-I. The show adds new characters and stories beyond the book.
- A graphic novel, Green Eggs and Ham Take a Hike, is set to be released in 2025. It is written and illustrated by James Kochalka. In this graphic novel, the unnamed man's name is Walter.
See also
In Spanish: Huevos verdes con jamón para niños
