Oh Say Can You Say?
A collection of escalating tongue twisters makes stumbling, restarting and laughing part of the reading game.
- First published
- 1979
- Reading stage
- Early readers & short stories
Reading this with your child
Accuracy is not the only win
The sound collisions are designed to twist the lips. Read one phrase slowly, try it again faster, then let the child challenge the adult; a mistake proves the mechanism is working.
Better for willing performers than new decoders
Random House labels it a Beginner Book but gives it Fountas/Pinnell level O and a non-prose Lexile designation. A child who reads simple stories comfortably may still need an adult model for its artificial word combinations.
Use a few sections at a time
The 48-page collection does not need to be completed in one sitting. Stop after a satisfying tongue twister and return later, especially if repetition is turning playful frustration into fatigue.
Compare before choosing: Choose Oh Say Can You Say? for articulation and comic difficulty; choose Mr. Brown for younger listeners joining through familiar and invented sounds. View the comparison title →
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