Green Eggs and Ham

Green Eggs and Ham is a children's book by Dr. Seuss, first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2019, the book has sold 8 million copies worldwide. The story has appeared in several adaptations, starting with 1973's Dr. Seuss on the Loose starring Paul Winchell as the voice of both characters, and more recently an animated TV series of the same name on Netflix (which also gave the originally unnamed character Sam pesters the name "Guy-Am-I").

Plot[]

Sam-I-Am rides an animal back in forth in front of his friend Guy-Am-I (who's originally unnamed), holding signs saying "I am Sam" and "Sam I am." Then, he badgers Guy to eat a dish of green eggs and ham. However, Guy tells Sam that he hates the food while furiously saying, "I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-Am." Sam continuously asks if Guy would eat them in or on various different environments and locations (house, box, car, tree, train, dark, rain, and boat) and with various animals (mouse, fox, and goat), but Guy still angrily refuses by saying, "I do not like them here (this place) or there (the other place). I do not like them anywhere." Finally, Guy samples the dish just to get Sam to "let him be." After taking his first bite, Guy finds that he actually likes the dish after all, and he announces that he would eat them in all of the places and with all of the animals mentioned earlier. The story ends with Guy (who has eaten the entire dish) and Sam becoming friends, with Guy happily saying, "I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you. Thank you, Sam-I-Am."

Trivia[]

This book features a self-centered fellow and a persistent, happy-go-lucky counterpart to him as a theme which would be continued in Fox in Socks, and It might be Knox.
The origin of Green Eggs and Ham stems from a bet Seuss had with his publisher, Bennett Cerf. Seuss' previous book The Cat in the Hat, used only 223 words based off a list of 348 required words for beginner readers to learn. Cerf bet Seuss that he did not write a book with on 50 words from the aforementioned list.
The pig-loving Save The Pigs Community started a petition to change the book's title, story and illustrations to "Green Eggs and JAM", and wanted someone with similar handwriting to draw a jam jar, to take out all references to eating pork.
This book was made into an animated TV special in 1973 in the TV film Dr. Seuss on the Loose with Paul Winchell as both Sam-I-Am and Guy-Am-I.
In the book, Sam and Guy go on a long train voyage. Eventually, the train runs off a poorly designed railroad and collides with a passenger ship. All personnel on both vehicles survive, and take part in Guy's culinary celebration. The 1973 cartoon is more implicitly violent, as the train, whose engineer appears to be asleep at the throttle, charges down the ship's funnel, causing both vehicles to sink to the bottom. While Guy then wades to shore, no one else emerges from either vehicle, so it might be presumed that all hands in both crews were drowned.
- Also, unlike the book, where the car falls off the tree and on top of the train, Guy jumps off the car and lands on the caboose of the train in the 1973 cartoon.
This book was featured in a film titled I Am Sam (2001), directed by Jessie Nelson, and starred by Sean Penn, Michelle Pfieffer, and Dakota Fanning. The character Sam loves reading this book.
Four Cartoon Network shows, Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, and Codename: Kids Next Door, have references to Green Eggs and Ham.
In Horton Hears a Who, The McDodd family is shown eating green eggs and ham for breakfast.
Oceanhouse Media published the book to be used as an app on iPhones, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android Apps.
The fox might be Fox in Socks.
The book now has a Netflix series. Learn more here.
The book only uses 50 different words.

Beginner Book Video[]

This Book was also used in the Random House Home Video Series which is entitled "Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Video", featuring "The Tooth Book" and "Ten Apples Up on Top!" and in another video series it also includes "The Cat in the Hat" along with One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Oh the Thinks you can Think! and The Foot Book.

First Appearances[]

Goofs, Errors, and Corrections[]

In the train scene it is shown the train has multiple coaches and a coal tender and two other passengers were missing.

Parodies[]

The SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Just One Bite" parodies the plot of this book, although the ending is different.
Two episodes of VeggieTales feature stories that parody Dr. Seuss: "The Story of Flibber-O-Loo" from "Are You My Neighbor?", and the title story of the episode, "A Snoodle's Tale". At the end of the latter, Larry says that something about the story makes him want to eat green ham... and eggs.
The Johnny Bravo episode "Cookie Crisis" parodies this book.
In the Martha Speaks episode "Ice Scream", the girl read a book called "Blue Mangoes", which is very similar to Green Eggs and Ham and is rhymed.
The Nature Cat episode "Mud Love" parodies the plot of this book.