Yes, it’s the sequel to Dr. Seuss’s classic book, The Sneetches: Sneetches Get Steetches! In this story, it is directly after the events of the original story The Sneetches, where everyone wanted to have a star on them to prove they were better than those who didn’t have one, and they all learned a valuable lesson about prejudice and pride. And in this sequel, just like with people who regret tattoos, the Sneetches want to remove all those embarrassing stars that caused all the trouble. And so, they all go to a plastic surgeon to get all the stars removed, and after the surgery, they get stitches (called “steetches” to rhyme with “Sneetches”, and also because through a Dr. Suessian word creation process, the word is born specifically to refer to the Sneetch star-removal process) to close the wounds. And thus they learn a painful lesson of the consequences of their actions in their ego trips to think they are better than everyone else.
Of course the original story of The Sneetches isn’t really about prejudice after all: it’s about being brand whores! Yes, the stars the Sneetches all wanted to wear are just like the Lacoste crocodile, the Polo polo player, the Chanel CC logo, the Dolce & Gabbana D&G logo, and all those other brand logos people wear on their clothes. It was rather forward-thinking of Dr. Seuss to address this brand whore issue at such an early stage of its development, but that only shows what a visionary he really was!
This is The Sneetches, for those of you who are unfamiliar:
(BTW: I remember the book The Sneetches very well, because at my sixth birthday party, someone gave me a copy of the Dr. Seuss book Green Eggs and Ham, and I thoughtlessly said: “Oh, I already have this.” So not only did I get a different book, The Sneetches, but I also learned about how you’re not supposed to tell someone dismissively that you already have what they gave you as a gift. And just like with how you always remember the answers to the test questions you got wrong your whole life forever after, you remember all your major faux pas as well, judging yourself for them for the rest of your life whenever you get a break from your busy lifestyle.)
