Our classic Dr. Seuss children’s book for today, “Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!” was written in conjunction with authors Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith and was published in 1998. Dr. Seuss passed away in 1991, but left behind drawings of a story idea that were finished and polished up by Prelutsky and Smith seven years later.
Our main characters live in Dinkerville and attend the Diffendoofer School, which is located at the corner of Dinkzoober and Dinkzott. They think it’s a pretty nifty school – they sure are learning a lot from their teachers, although they have a sneaking suspicion that the teachers make up their own rules. Their favorite teacher of all is Miss Bonkers. All the teachers are strange, but she’s a bit over the top in the “strange” department.
The curriculum is certainly different from any I’ve seen – we have listening, smelling, laughing, and yelling. Then there is the class on how to tie noodles into knots, and if you’re having trouble telling the difference between miniature poodles and chrysanthemums, there’s a class on that, too. (Sounds like I need that one.) We mustn’t forget the “Pigeon Preparedness” class, either.
In science, they are learning how to build robotic rats. They get to have hot dogs and fries for lunch (along with other things they don’t recognize) and they think their school is the greatest on earth.
But one day word comes down that a standardized learning test is going to be held, and if the children haven’t learned the things they are supposed to, they’ll have to go to school in Flobbertown, where everyone does everything the same. The children are a bit aghast at the thought of having to go there, and they worry that they won’t pass the test.
But Miss Bonkers reassures them that they know everything they’re supposed to, plus one very important key – they’ve been taught how to think.
The children take the test with ease, and the answers they don’t know, they are able to reason out for themselves. When the scores are returned, they got the highest out of the whole district! The principal declares a Diffendoofer Day, and everyone gets to have pizza and cake to celebrate.
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