The Butter Battle Book

I might have been even more impressed by the wordplay of this one than the last Seuss I reread. His talent for making up names for things that don't exist is astonishing. I'd completely forgotten (this one wasn't a childhood favorite) that the story ends without a resolution, and I was a bit surprised that the two factions are posed forever inches from mutually assured destruction. But in hindsight, how else would you end this story, this metaphor for the cold war?

The Butter Battle Book is another of Dr. Seuss's titles which reflect his activist side. Through satirical humor, he explores the ridiculousness and futility of war. The Yooks and the Zooks have an age-old disagreement over which way to eat their bread, butter side up or down, and as a result, they eventually start a war over it. They begin with sentries guarding the wall separating their borders which of course, could be taken as a metaphor for anything that separates us from our fellow man. One side fires upon the other with a slingshot and from there, the conflict continues to escalate with each side coming up with increasingly preposterous weapons until both possess a small bomb which could blow the other side to smithereens and in show more essence wipe out the world.

It's doubtful that younger children will understand the deeper meaning behind the story, but they're sure to be delighted with the classic Seuss rhyming text and whimsical illustrations of Seuss-ified characters and their silly machines. With parental or educator guidance older children can glean an important message about getting along with others who have different views in order to prevent conflict from happening and not feeling like you have to one up each other until you either reach an impossible situation or the worst occurs. I think this simple lesson could be applied to our daily lives, as well as the world at large for preventing warfare. Overall, The Butter Battle Book was another fabulous Dr. Seuss story that has earned a spot on my keeper shelf. show less

The Zooks spread their butter with the butter-side down, and the Yooks spread their butter with the butter side up. There’s a wall between the Yooks and the Zooks, and both parties threaten each other at the wall. Both the Yooks and the Zooks create bigger and better sligshots and guns, always threatening each other. Finally, both the Zooks and the Yooks have a bomb they are threatening to drop on the other side of the wall. The book does not determine who drops the bomb – it is left up to the reader’s imagination.
I think this book is very applicable to what is going on in today’s society. Unfortunately, countries are constantly threatening each other. This book is a way for children to understand what is going on in the world show more without scaring them with the real countries that are threatening each other. show less

Another brilliant book by Dr. Seuss. My favorite thing about it is that it is one of those books that can be read on so many levels. To younger children, it is a fun, rhyming book with the Yooks and the Zooks arguing over how to eat bread and butter. However, there are many lessons to be looked at and learned from this story that the older the children get, hopefully the more they will recognize and appreciate. The book deals with prejudice and intolerance and shows how quickly violence can get out of hand. I feel this is a picture book that even high school kids should take the opportunity to read.

In this Dr. Seuss a grandson and grandfather learn about the battle against the other people on the other side of the wall who butter their butter on the wrong side of the bread. As the book progresses the two different sides develop more sophisticated weapons to defeat the other side. The two sides keep building weapons until they have a weapon that would destroy the world. Finally the two sides come to a truce.
As a child of the late Cold War, this book was very powerful for me. The two sides building bigger bombs for baseless hatred made me see the threat for what it was. Reading it to students today can bring about some interesting discussions. This book can also be used to discuss neighborhood gang violence and revenge in a school show more setting. show less

So much more than a picture book. On the surface, this book presents an interesting story for young readers in the typical Dr. Seuss fashion, with crazy names and lots of bright illustrations. On a deeper level however, is a book that brillantly sums up the dangers of an arms race between two nations. This book is not the first time that Dr. Seuss has tackled an issue not normally found in a picture book. The Lorax serves the same cautionary purpose for the message of protecting the environment. This book works great in high school U.S. history classrooms during a unit on the Cold War. What better way to start a lesson on the arms race than with the teacher reading this book to the class!

44 months - two reads was all this one got. The look on O's face said it all. She could not comprehend the reason for the fighting or need for bigger weapons over toast eaten butter side up or down. Pretty silly an horrifying but then isn't the human race pretty silly and horrifying at the same time? I can't understand the need for bigger more powerful guns in the hands of civilians today either. A extremely well written book which ends in a Cold War. A Dr Seuss but I'd recommend it for an older audience.