Book cover image:
Book Summary: When Marco decides to go fishing in McElligot's Pool, a local farmer tells him how foolish he is to look for fish in the small, polluted pool. Marco is undeterred, however, and is soon imagining all the different kinds of fish that might make their way to McElligot's Pool from just about anywhere for him to catch, such as a fish "with a checkerboard belly" or one "who has fins like a sail." He spends so much time imagining these fish that he concludes that he must only be patient enough to see who comes to the pool.
APA Reference of the book: Dr. Seuss (1947). McElligot's pool. New York: Random House.
Impressions: I am a huge fan of Dr. Seuss books, and was pleasantly surprised to find one that I hadn't heard of before on the reading list. I was not disappointed when I read the book, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Like most Dr. Seuss books, it had a great deal of word play, and the main word used in the book was might. The entire story is a speculation of what might be down in the pool and the reader is caught up in all the possibilities that may or may not actually be. The overall message seems to be to look past what's right in front of the reader to imagine all that might be. The positive message seems like one that everyone needs to hear at one point or another.
One interesting aspect of this book was that while all the illustrations were painted in the same style, only every other page was in color. The constant switch between grayscale pictures and color pictures made the color pictures stand out even more, and each color picture was almost a surprise after finishing a page in grayscale.
In the review below, it is mentioned that there is not a great deal of conflict to the book, which the reviewer feels is to the detriment of the story. However, I think that although the only conflict is whether or not there are actually any fish in the pool, the way Marco addresses the issue is where the theme of the story lies. Specifically, to look past the surface and see what is, or in this case, can be underneath. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to others.
Professional Review:
"McElligot's Pool is a Seuss classic from the distant era before even The Cat In The Hat. It's a single poetic variation on the theme of adult skepticism that's no match for childhood faith and daydreaming. A small boy is fishing in the tiny, unpromising McElligot's Pool, a puddle that (as a passing farmer informs our diminutive hero) is nothing but a hole where people dispose of their junk. But the boy is all optimism: what if the pool is deeper than anyone thinks? What if it connects to an underground stream that flows under the town to the sea? Might not all sorts of fish then swim up the stream and be caught here? "I might catch an eel... (Well, I might. It depends.) A long twisting eel with a lot of strange bends. And, oddly enough, with a head at both ends!" The moral of the story is straightforward: "If I wait long enough, if I'm patient and cool,/ Who knows what I'll catch in McElligot's pool?" (Ages 4 to 8)"
Farr, R. (n.d.) [Review of McElligot's Pool, by Dr. Seuss]. Amazon.com review. Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/McElligots-Pool-Classic-Seuss-Dr/dp/0394800834/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380850585&sr=8-1&keywords=mcelligot%27s+pool
Library uses: This book could be used in the library to show students the power of imagination. This could lead to a discussion of how fiction books help readers to imagine the story in their heads as if a movie is playing. After looking at this book, students could look for other books whose characters use their imagination to think of what might be.
Library uses: This book could be used in the library to show students the power of imagination. This could lead to a discussion of how fiction books help readers to imagine the story in their heads as if a movie is playing. After looking at this book, students could look for other books whose characters use their imagination to think of what might be.
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