AppleBlossom read this one aloud to us all. This is a Memoria Press Second grade literature choice.

Dr. Seuss Caldecott Honor Book. Starts out with "'Young man,' laughed the farmer,/ 'You're sort of a fool!/ You'll never catch fish/ In McElligot's Pool!'/ 'The pool is too small./ And you might as well know it,/ When people have junk/ Here's the place that they throw it.'" Then the boy says, "'It may be you're right./ I've been here three hours/ Without one single bite./ There might be no fish.../ ...But, again,/ Well, there might!/ Cause you never can tell/ What goes on down below!'" And then he goes into imagining that this little spot of water connects to an underground river and the ocean and beyond. He imagines all sorts of fish. Very fun, imaginative book of what might be.

This felt a lot like something my friend would tell me when I say something is impossible.

How is it possible that this book has been banned for being racist? This is a wonderful book, an ode to imagination and to opening new horizons. A young boy is fishing in a dirty pond, and he imagines that the pond could be connected with the entire world, and all sorts of fish could magically appear. The only reason I can think caused this book to be banned were fishes dressed as Eskimos... I am happy I could read the ebook version, I cannot buy the hard copy as it costs $1000... If I ever have children, I will definitely read it to them. It is such a shame that these works of literature are in the hands of ignorant people who can just stop their publication. The Seuss estate should be ashamed of themselves.

I loved reading this book! With its witty rhymes and fun illustrations it is perfect for children in preschool. It is also a good book or children to read themselves once they learn, so that they can begin to learn how to read poetry. I love how the illustrations switch from black and white to color every other page. It makes the pictures pop even more than they already do because it contrasts with the last page. I have always loved Dr. Seuss's illustration style also. It looks like he painted this book's illustrations in soft water colors which offers a large array of colors to be used as well as basic colors like black and white. His style is primarily cartoonish which children love to look at because of how creative he gets with all the different kinds of fish he talks about in this book. I would use this book to teach children the power of imagination and determination. Although Marco is not catching any fish, he is having just as fun of a time thinking up all the fish possibilities. I also enjoyed how the words follow alongside the pictures in the blank spaces. This helps draw attention to not only the illustrations but the words as well, since both are equally as important to the book.

On my quest to read all of the 6 "banned" Seuss books. To be fair, their publication was discontinued by the publisher, the Seuss family. Nothing in the text of these books could be considered offensive or "racist". Is a picture of a traditionally dressed "Eskimo" offensive to you? How about a "tropical" man who might be described as Mexican? This character wears a sombrero-LIKE hat and has a mustache. Are sombreros racist icons? My daughter has another thought. If books are "banned", the right will rush out to buy them...at quite a premium. Last I checked, some of them could be purchased on Amazon for $1,000.00 I suspect the price has risen by now. So, in her words...brilliant ploy to profit from old Seuss books people have forgotten and stimulate purchases.

I really loved this book. my 3 kids also really enjoyed this book as well. I think it's very cute and I would recommend this book to others.

Title: McElligot's Pool
Author: Theodore Seuss Giesel
Illustrator:
Genre: Picture Book
Theme(s): Patience, hope, believing, imagination
Opening line/sentence: "Young man," laughed the farmer, "You're sort of a fool! You'll never catch fish in McElligot's pool!"
Brief Book Summary: This book starts off with an adult farmer trying to discourage a boy from fishing in McElligot's pool, because he believes there are no fish in there. The boy proceeds to his imagination and fantasizes over the fish that he could possibly catch, completely disregarding the farmer's comment. There are realistic fish and fish that are completely a result of his imagination displayed throughout the rest of the story.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:In this colorful picture book, a boy named Marco goes fishing in a small pond called McElligot's Pool. As he sits waiting for a bite, a farmer calls him a fool and says "You'll never catch fish in McElligot's Pool!" Marco, however, refuses to be discouraged and spends the rest of the story describing all the fish that could be coming to McElligot's Pool from the ocean. The story ends with Marco still fishing and the farmer scratching his beard and looking confused. The use of color and illustrations blur the line between fantasy and reality during Marco's story, creating one of the most interesting aspects of the book. The text is made up of catchy rhymes and intriguing fish descriptions. The pictures complement the text and make the fish descriptions seem real. Interestingly, Seuss illustrates every other page in black and white. At the beginning of the story when Marco sits by the pond, the black and white emphasizes the concrete reality of the Marco talking to the farmer. After page one, every other page is in color. The color magnifies Marco's fantasy about all of the fish, making them seem beautiful and real. At the same time, the black and white pages make Marco's fish descriptions seem realistic. Seuss's use of the black-and-white pictures during Marco's whimsical descriptions in the text could be his way of toning down the fantasy and bringing it into the context of every day life. The use of color to blend reality and fantasy also emphasizes optimism in the story. The farmer was probably right in telling Marco that he will "never catch fish in McElligot's Pool." With the clever use of color and illustrations, however, Dr. Seuss undermines the fisherman's certainty and makes Marco's claim that there might be fish in McElligot's Pool believable. McElligot's Pool sends the message that life is not always as it seems, that it is not as simple as black and white. It portrays the optimistic and hopeful message that miracles can happen, even in a place like McElligot's Pool. Without Dr. Suess's expert use of color in his illustrations to emphasize the text, this message would not have been nearly as effective. 1996 (orig. 1947), Random House,
— Jenny Pendleton
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:Kirkis Review
Utterly enchanting nonsense tale, which children and grown-ups will equally claim. Particularly fishermen, of any age. A small boy drops a fishing line in a farmer's pool and ignores the farmer's scornful comment on the kinds of things he will find in the pool. His imagination plays, instead, with the kinds of things the pool might provide -- and the pictures are wonderful,- superb drawing, beautiful color, lots of humor in double page spreads throughout.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:Children's Literature
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews mention the imagination that comes into play during this book. However, Kirkis Review definitely goes more in-depth with HOW the imagination is depicted in the story: through Dr. Seuss's play with colors. The book shifts back and forth from fantasy to reality, and the fantasy is displayed through the colorful pages whereas reality is in all black and white. Through the pictures and colors, the book successfully shows the boy's imagination as opposed to the farmer's reality.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The use of color definitely plays a huge role in this book, as it shifts back and forth from black and white to color as the story shifts from reality to fantasy and imagination. This is an interesting element, however it starts to get confusing as the color change keeps shifting. The color shifts towards the middle of the book make it hard to tell whether or not the boy really will catch fish from the pool. This book also plays on a reader's patience, as the boy waits the entire story to catch a fish and the reader never finds out of the boy catches a fish.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This can be used to teach children to use their imagination, and to show them that there really are no boundaries to what they can do or what they might find out in the world. The teacher can have them draw their own pond and draw what type of fish they think they might catch. The teacher can also evoke the children's imagination by asking the students what fish they think the boy will catch (if any), and how much longer is he going to wait after the book until he catches it.

A cute book about a young boy who is fishing in McElligot's Pool. A man comes and tells him, he won't be catching anything in the pool and the young boy tells him what he could be catching and where all that water comes from. Who knows, the child might be right?

One of the earlier Seuss books that I've somehow never heard of before, this was a fun read with MicroMort. No "message" just ever more fantastic fish a boy imagines he can catch in a tiny pond, which is exactly the kind of magical thinking I remember having as a boy. Fun.

3.8 stars

McElligot's Pool is a popular children's book written by the incomparable Dr. Suess. Much like other Dr. Suess books the pages are filled with unique creatures (in this case fish). The story starts with a young boy, Marco, that is trying to catch a fish in McElligot's Pool. An old farmer tells the boy that he is a fool for trying to catch fish in the pool because it is only filled with trash. Marco then starts to let his imagination run wild with the types of fish that he may be able to catch if he is patient. This is one of my favorite Dr. Suess books because it serves as a starting point for the reader to use their own imagination and think about the most unimaginable things that they can make up. I particularly like the end where Marco rejects the advice of the old farmer and continues fishing because he is inspired by the images of the sea and the fishes that inhabit those pockets of sea life. This book reminds me a lot of a another Dr. Seuss book that I recently read, "If I Ran the Zoo." This would be a great read-aloud book as the passages are short and it would allow for the integration of art and science.