Yertle the turtle
and other stories
by Dr. Seuss · first published 1958
11mentions
4recommended by
10HN commenters
2010–2026first – last mentioned
40% recommend60% neutral
Includes three humorous stories in verse; Yertle the Turtle, Gertrude McFuzz, and The Big Brag.
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…enjoyed all of Graeme Base's books, but The Eleventh Hour is particularly good and have given it to many kids and adults: http://graemebase.com/book/the-eleventh-hour/ I am also thinking about giving Yertle the Turtle By Dr. Seuss out to anyone I meet before the election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yertle_the_Turtle_and_Other_St... I have given many Dr. Seuss books away as well.
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗"For a complete explanation of the dangers of managers with the wrong kind of ambition, I strongly recommend Dr. Suess’s management masterpiece Yertle the Turtle." For those who like me want to fill in this hole in their education: http://www.archive.org/details/jessyertletheturtlepodcast
on “The Right Kind of Ambition” ↗Yertle the Turtle, by Dr. Seuss. It taught me early to question authority and resist popular movements that are built on my back.
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?” ↗…have always liked The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, Chicken Soup With Rice by Maurice Sendak, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss and Yertle The Turtle by Dr. Seuss.
on “Ask HN: What's your favorite children's books?” ↗…to me that it was a cold war allegory, which was a bit of a surprise to me. I didn't recall Dr. Seuss books having much in the way of sociopolitical commentary, and I still don't, outside stories like Yertle the Turtle or The Lorax. If the politics apparent in Yertle the Turtle went over my head as a child, it's possible that other allegories went over my head as well. I should go back and read those books again.
on “Dr. Seuss’ arms race allegory” ↗…Though there is some nuance here considering Bezos' absolute detestable behavior climbing on the backs of abused workers to get to this point. It's an old story, as expressed by Dr. Seuss in his story Yertle the Turtle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yertle_the_Turtle_and_Other_St...
on “Blue Origin first human flight” ↗When I hear things like this, I'm reminded of the Dr. Seuss story, "Yertle the Turtle". The whole system is built on the lowest rung holding the most stress without so much as a burp. When that burp inevitably comes, the whole thing could come crashing down.
on “All businesses will eventually turn into subscriptions” ↗My mom was a technical recruiter for a big Catholic hospital system in the Detroit area in the late 90's. She decided that she needed a copy of Doctor Seuss's _Yertle the Turtle_ for her cubicle because she thought it described her office situation (management creating new layers below them to lord over). Tech people often don't make the transition to management well.
on “Ask HN: Is Hybrid Working a Ruse?” ↗Dr Seuss's Yertle the Turtle is a metaphor for Hitler. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yertle_the_Turtle_and_Other_St... >Seuss has stated that the titular character Yertle represented Adolf Hitler, with Yertle's despotic rule of…
on “Why Edge Detection Doesn’t Explain Line Drawing” ↗It's turtles all the way down! Or all the way up. Yertle the Turtle represented Hitler, and now Trump and Putin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yertle_the_Turtle_and_Other_St... >Seuss has stated that the titular character Yertle represented Adolf Hitler, with Yertle's…
on “High-power microwave defeats drone swarm” ↗…last 10-15 years. It’s an early book that honestly doesn’t deserve the attention of the later masterful works. I would think the right wing politicians would be more upset about “Horton Hears a Who”, “Yertle the Turtle” and the “Butter Battle Book”.
on “Banned Seuss” ↗