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Summary: On the 15th of May, in the Jungle of Nool...
Review: My favorite Dr Seuss book as a child, and now a favorite of my kids.There are so many messages in this book, but they are never forced upon the reader. You are free to read it as a gentle story, a discussion of politics, a moral tale about the role of the individual in a community, or simply some of the catchiest poetry ever written. And who couldn't love Horton, hate Vlad, and cheer at the young kangaroo's last "me too"? The fabulous story deserves to be in the center of any family's children's collection...and should be in with the grown-up books too.
Rating:
Summary: On the 15th of May, in the Jungle of Nool...
Review: My favorite Dr Seuss book as a child, and now a favorite of my kids. There are so many messages in this book, but they are never forced upon the reader. You are free to read it as a gentle story, a discussion of politics, a moral tale about the role of the individual in a community, or simply some of the catchiest poetry ever written. And who couldn't love Horton, hate Vlad, and cheer at the young kangaroo's last "me too"? The fabulous story deserves to be in the center of any family's children's collection...and should be in with the grown-up books too.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps his best one
Review: People are valuable no matter how small. No matter how powerless and no matter how little influence they have. A good message and written as a moving story that even little kids can follow along with even if they can't grasp the entirety of the message. I don't know if Dr. Suess meant this story to be a pro life message, but it certainly works for that cause. He makes a compelling arguement for one, in this case Horton, to fight against the odds and disfavor of the group for the cause of a single insignificant and unknown person. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps his best one
Review: People are valuable no matter how small. No matter how powerless and no matter how little influence they have. A good message and written as a moving story that even little kids can follow along with even if they can't grasp the entirety of the message. I don't know if Dr. Suess meant this story to be a pro life message, but it certainly works for that cause. He makes a compelling arguement for one, in this case Horton, to fight against the odds and disfavor of the group for the cause of a single insignificant and unknown person. I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: Horton, the elephant, must again prove his faithfulness.
Review: Readers are first introduced to Horton--the gentle elephant who "does what he says and says what he does, an elephant faithful one hundred percent"--in Dr. Seuss's Horton Hatches the Egg. In this sequel Horton is again faced with misunderstanding and prejudice when he tries to save his tiny friends in Whoville, and again he proves faithfulness and compassion triumph. As in Horton Hatches the Egg, Dr. Seuss's unique rhyming style and whimsical illustrations do not fail to capture and hold a child's attention. Horton will forever remain a gentle, comfortable friend in a child's memory.
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Summary: Even one little voice can tip the scale
Review: Regardless of ridicule, Horton stuck by his tiny friends he heard that could fit on a clover. He put up a horrible battle to save his friends and told them they needed to make themselves heard or they would be destroyed along with him, and he was doing everything in his power to protect them. "A person's a person, no matter how small", he kept saying as he went through each attempt of others to destroy him for his beliefs. Finally, it took one last "Who" from Whoville that was shirking that made the difference in being heard, that saved Horton and the village, just one more voice that was not speaking up, that when he was told to, and did,tipped the scales and saved the town and Horton. The animals that were going to destroy Horton for being "crazy", decided that from that day on they would be as loyal to the town of "Whoville" as Horton, and they realized that Horton was not crazy at all, but a very loyal and honest elephant who stuck by his beliefs, regardless of the awful things they had put him through for doubting him. Mrs. Symmington
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Summary: Stick By Your Convictions - Horton did
Review: Regardless of ridicule, Horton stuck by his tiny friends he heard that could fit on a clover. He put up a horrible battle to save his friends and told them they needed to make themselves heard or they would be destroyed along with him, and he was doing everything in his power to protect them. "A person's a person, no matter how small", he kept saying as he went through each attempt of others to destroy him for his beliefs. Finally, it took one last "Who" from Whoville that was shirking that made the difference in being heard, that saved Horton and the village, just one more voice that was not speaking up, that when he was told to, and did,tipped the scales and saved the town and Horton. The animals that were going to destroy Horton for being "crazy", decided that from that day on they would be as loyal to the town of "Whoville" as Horton, and they realized that Horton was not crazy at all, but a very loyal and honest elephant who stuck by his beliefs, regardless of the awful things they had put him through for doubting him. Mrs. Symmington
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Summary: The Powerful Hear and Respect the Vocal Downtrodden!
Review: Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute. To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. Horton Hears a Who! was one of her picks. On the surface, this is a story about an elephant going the extra mile to respect those who are as different from him as they can possibly be. "He was splashing . . . enjoying the jungle's great joys . . . When Horton the elephant heard a small noise." He notices a speck of dust, passing in the air. With his large ears, he can hear something coming from that dust. Quickly, he imagines that there is some sort of a creature of very small size on the dust. No one else believes him, and he is taunted and tortured by the other animals . . . who cannot hear the small noise. They think Horton has gone mad! After tribulations that would daunt any decent, dedicated elephant, he must find a way to convince the other animals before they overwhelm him and destroy the dust (and the Whos along with it!). He tells the tiny Whos to make as much noise as possible. But still the other animals cannot hear them. Finally, the mayor of the Whos finds a shirker who is playing with his yo-yo rather than making noise. As soon as the small Who makes his sound, all the animals can hear. Then the Whos are safe. The metaphor here is that the strong must protect the weak, but the weak must also be as outspoken as possible if the strong are going to be able to help them. That can make for a wonderful discussion about bullies and pushy children in school. Beyond that, I have always seen this book as Dr. Seuss's apology for his sometimes anti-Japanese cartoons (including an anti-Japanese-American version) during the early days of World War II when he was a political cartoonist (see Dr. Seuss Goes to War). Why do I think that? The book is dedicated as follows: "For My Great Friend, Mitsugi Nakamura of Kyoto, Japan". I read that as being dedicated to all those of Japanese ancestry as well. In this eloquent plea for common decency, Dr. Seuss rises to be a geat man. Discuss with your child when and where these concepts might come into play. Younger siblings and cousins can provide a good starting point. Then you can go on to talk about the role of parents in helping their children. You'll have a wonderful chat, the first of many.
Rating:
Summary: long
Review: Surely among the most lovable of all Dr. Seuss creations, Horton the Elephant represents kindness, trustworthiness, and perseverance--all wrapped up, thank goodness, in a comical and even absurd package. Horton hears a cry for help from a speck of dust, and spends much of the book trying to protect the infinitesimal creatures who live on it from the derision and trickery of other animals, who think their elephant friend has gone quite nutty. But worse is in store: an eagle carries away the clover in which Horton has placed the life-bearing speck, and "let that small clover drop somewhere inside / of a great patch of clovers a hundred miles wide!" Horton wins in the end, after persuading the Who's to make as much noise as possible and prove their existence.
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Summary: Seuss at the top of his game
Review: The best (in my opinion, of course) Dr. Seuss book. It has all of the music of his other writings, but (unlike some of his books) a compelling story as well. And what better message for your child to learn than "People are people, no matter how small."?
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