Green Eggs and Ham is a children's book by Dr. Seuss. It was published by the Beginner Books imprint of Random House on August 12, 1960. The book follows "Sam-I-am" as he follows an unnamed character, repeatedly requesting that he try a dish of green eggs and ham before the unnamed character eventually tries and approves of it.

Seuss began writing Green Eggs and Ham after Bennett Cerf, his editor, bet him $50 () that he could not write an engaging children's book using a vocabulary of 50 words. Finding the challenge difficult, Seuss used notes, charts, and checklists to keep track of his progress. The book covers themes of conflict between individuals, though Seuss has stated that it lacks any deeper meaning.

Green Eggs and Ham was widely praised by critics for its writing and illustration, and the challenge of writing a book in 50 words is regarded as a success. The book has been the subject of multiple adaptations, including a television series of the same name in 2019.

Plot

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Sam-I-am offers an unnamed character a plate of green eggs and ham, but he tells Sam that he hates the food. Sam continues to ask him to eat the food in various locations and with various animals for dining partners, but his answer remains the same. Finally, when persuaded to try the dish, he realizes that he likes green eggs and ham, and thanks Sam-I-am.

Writing and release

Green Eggs and Ham was written by Theodor Seuss Geisel under his pen name Dr. Seuss. He wrote the book after his editor at Random House, Bennett Cerf, bet him $50 () that he could not write an engaging children's book using a vocabulary of only 50 distinct words. The bet was a response to Seuss's previous success, The Cat in the Hat, which was written using 236 distinct words. Seuss took extensive notes to work out how to best use 50 words, creating different charts and checklists. By the time he finished arranging the words, he had memorized many of the statistics of how he used them.

Green Eggs and Ham only uses 50 words: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, and you. The teachers ranked it fourth. Teachers ranked it fourth again in a 2007 National Education Association poll. Scholastic Parent & Child magazine placed it #7 among the "100 Greatest Books for Kids" in 2012. That same year, it was ranked number 12 among the "Top 100 Picture Books" in a survey published by School Library Journal – the first of five Dr. Seuss books on the list.

Legacy

thumb|The Green Eggs and Ham Cafe in the [[Seuss Landing theme park]]

In 1967, Green Eggs and Ham ranked as the best-selling children's book. At the end of 2000, it had sold 8,143,088 copies, making it the most popular book by Dr. Seuss and the all-time fourth best-selling hardcover children's book in the United States.

At Dr. Seuss's alma mater, Dartmouth College, it became an inside joke that the book's title was a reference to the breakfast food served in the on-campus cafeteria. When Dr. Seuss received an honorary doctorate from Princeton University in 1985, the graduating class rose and recited Green Eggs and Ham in its entirety for him. Dr. Seuss reportedly spent the rest of his life enduring gifts of green eggs and ham, which he described as "deplorable stuff". Later in life, he said that Green Eggs and Ham was the only book of his that still made him laugh.

The Green Eggs and Ham Cafe opened in the Seuss Landing island at the Universal Islands of Adventure theme park in 1999. It closed in 2015 before reopening in 2019. The cafe serves the titular green eggs and ham as well as other foods featured in Dr. Seuss books.

U.S. District Court Judge James Muirhead referenced Green Eggs and Ham in his September 21, 2007, court ruling after receiving an egg in the mail from prisoner Charles Jay Wolff, who was protesting against the prison diet. Muirhead ordered the egg destroyed and rendered his judgment in the style of Seuss. Senator Ted Cruz read the book on the floor of the United States Senate during his filibuster over the funding of the Affordable Care Act. Musician will.i.am has stated that his moniker is inspired by the story.

Many parodies of Green Eggs and Ham have been created, including a rap song by Moxy Früvous and a sketch on Saturday Night Live featuring the minister Jesse Jackson reading the book during a sermon.

Green Eggs and Ham has been adapted into stage and television versions. A television adaptation was released by Netflix in 2019, also titled Green Eggs and Ham. It stars Adam DeVine as Sam-I-Am, a wanted criminal posing as a wildlife protector, and Michael Douglas as the unnamed character, a failed inventor who is given the name Guy-Am-I for the series. The show introduces new characters, settings, and plots independently from the book. The mouse (named Squeaky and voiced by Daveed Diggs), fox (named Michael and voiced by Tracy Morgan), and goat (voiced by John Turturro) all appear as recurring or guest characters. A graphic novel Green Eggs and Ham Take a Hike, released on January 7, 2025, is written and illustrated by James Kochalka. In the graphic novel, the unnamed character's name is Walter.

Notes

References

  • Green Eggs and Ham (Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Video) on YouTube
  • "Green Eggs and Ham" Read by Christina Milian on YouTube