Hop on Pop

Category:Former Groiler Beginner Book Series
Category:Big Bright and Early Board Books
Category:Beginner Books Read-Along and Cassettes
Category:Dr. Seuss's Beginner Book Collection
Hop on Pop is a 1963 children's picture book by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), published as part of the Random House Beginner Books series. The book is subtitled "The Simplest Seuss for Youngest Use", and contains several short poems about a variety of characters designed to introduce basic phonics concepts to children.
== History ==
One of Geisel's manuscript drafts for the book contained the lines, "When I read I am smart / I always cut whole words apart. / Con Stan Tin O Ple, Tim Buk Too / Con Tra Cep Tive, Kan Ga Roo". Geisel had included the contraceptive reference to ensure that publisher Bennett Cerf was reading the manuscript. Cerf did notice the line, and the poem was changed to the following: "My father / can read / big words, too. / Like... / Constantinople / and / Timbuktu".
== Reception ==
A popular choice of elementary school teachers and children's librarians, Hop on Pop ranked sixteenth on Publishers Weekly's 2001 list of the all-time best-selling hardcover books for children. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of their "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".
One of Hop on Pop’s most notable advocates is former United States First Lady Laura Bush, who listed the book as her favourite in a 2006 Wall Street Journal article. Bush said this book with its illustrations and rhymes delighted her and her husband George and their daughters Barbara and Jenna after reading it.
In 2013, an official complaint was made to the Toronto Public Library, in the statement that the book "encouraged children to use violence against their fathers". The library decided against removing the book, finding it a humorous and well-loved children's book designed to engage children while teaching them reading skills.
== Inspiration for others ==
Like many Dr. Seuss books, Hop on Pop has inspired others. Big Brother Mouse, a publishing project in Laos, drew on Hop on Pop to develop The Polar Bear Visits Laos, which matches short sentences that include an internal rhyme with cartoon images.
== Translations ==
* Dutch: En dans op jans
== Trivia ==
* This book is released to Beginner Book Video as the first story in Hop On Pop and 2 Other Stories.
* This is one of the only two books to feature the (Old) Sam-I-Am Serif font on the cover, the other one being Green Eggs and Ham.
* This is not the same Thing from The Cat In The Hat.
* This book is released as a Bright & Early Board Book, with some changes and omitted pages.
== Anniversary editions ==
* 50th Anniversary (2013)