Customer Reviews

Horton Hears a Who! (Classic Seuss)

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I bought this book for my six year-old this past Christmas. She has recently fallen in love with Dr. Seuss books, and poetry in general. And this book, along with other Seuss books, gives her great joy. We read it together, out loud, enjoying the scan and ryhme of the words and sentences. And on that level, it's one of her favorites.

But after we read it, we talk about the concepts behind it, how "a person's a person, no matter how small", and how Horton realizes the inherent dignity in all life, regardless of whether or not it fits into our commonly held conceptions. This book allows me to open up discussions on race, and religion, and the external aspects of persons, and how often we judge people (sometimes unfairly) based on how they look, rather than on their actions.

I highly recommend this book for any schoolchild and parent to read together, reveling in the language and fun, and then use as a stepping stone to further discussions about life and personhood.

Horton Hears A Who was about much much more than Horton's predicament. Written in the early 1950's, this story reflected a new way of thinking for Dr. Seuss as an individual, and ran contrary to the grain of much of the sentiment in the United States at the time.

During the early 1950's the results of the Marshall Plan were still unclear, and Americans, who had just fought a fierce war with Japan and Germany in the decade before, were debating whether or not to continue with our aid, protection and reconstruction programs. The programs were designed to give our defeated foes a chance to rebuild. They were a brave new experiment. An effort to avoid punishing the populous for its bad leadership. Also, for the first time in history, and effort to love your enemy, in the hopes of making them your friend forever.

Many Americans viewed the Germans and Japanese with disdain. They were calling for an end to aid for a variety of reasons, most of which are touched upon in the book.

Despite his racially charged characterizations of the Japanese *during* the war, Dr. Seuss was coming to terms with the fact that the general populations of Germany and Japan were additional victoms of the war - simply leftover pawns in a terrible game.

Seuss wrote this book in an effort to get the word out that, despite differences past and present, we should try to care about one another just the same.

You see:

"the Whos down in Whoville on top of that little speck are people,regardless of race,creed-or size!"

Dr. Seuss was compelled by the helplessness of these devestated nations, and was issuing an appeal for everyone to start looking at nations as a collection of real people, rather than as a monolithic "other".

I am blessed to own many beautiful books for kids but if I had to get rid of all but one, this is the book I would keep. Its message: "A person's a person no matter how small" is everything you really need to teach the children in your life. I have shared it with four years olds, 12 year olds and adults. It's incredible.

Like many of Dr. Seuss' great classics, "Horton Hears a Who!" can be read on multiple levels. You could approach it as a straightforward story (which is, I'm sure, how most children enjoy it). Or you could read the plot and characters as metaphors for larger issues. Either way, "Horton" is an unforgettable text.

"Horton" opens with the delightful rhyme "On the fifteenth of May, in the Jungle of Nool, / In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool." Horton, a kind-hearted elephant, is the only inhabitant of the jungle who is capable of hearing the Whos, a microscopic race of beings whose entire civilization exists on a speck of dust. Mocked and abused by those who refuse to believe in the tiny Whos, Horton must ultimately join the Whos in a bold plan to prove the tiny beings' existence, and thus save their civilization from destruction.

Dr. Seuss brilliantly combines the classic animal fable genre with a brilliant science fiction twist. But I also see "Horton" as a deeply humanistic parable of social justice. The Whos could be seen as symbols for any group of individuals who have been rendered "invisible" and voiceless by an arrogant dominant group. So the Whos could represent the poor, the lesbian and gay community, ethnic or religious minorities, women, or other groups.

And Horton could be seen as a courageous, nonconformist prophet of social justice--a sort of Seussian version of Pablo Neruda, or Walt Whitman. Moreover, Horton is a member of the "dominant" group who chooses to identify with and stand in solidarity with a marginalized community, even at the risk of his own freedom. Furthermore, the hoped-for salvation of the Whos lies not in Horton's actions alone, nor in the Whos' own actions alone, but rather in the combined strength of both the entire Who community and their elephant advocate. I believe that Horton's quest reflects the ideas expressed by Brazilian educator-philosopher Paulo Freire in his classic volume "Pedagogy of the Oppressed."

I don't want to reveal the details of the book's ending, but I'll just say that Dr. Seuss brings this suspenseful tale to a triumphant and life-affirming conclusion. And the story is brilliantly enhanced by marvelous Seussian artwork--I especially liked the illustrations of the whimsical Whos and their Escheresque city. "Horton Hears a Who!" is a classic for readers of all ages.

I suspect that even people who don't know a word of English might enjoy Dr. Seuss's galloping rhythms, precise rhymes, and intricate illustrations of creatures and objects that couldn't possibly exist outside the wonderful, whimsical Seussian universe. But in Horton Hears a Who, the good doctor uses his inimitable talents not only to amuse but to weave a morality tale of surprising profundity. Although Horton is the largest creature in the Jungle of Nool, he alone is sensitive to the needs of the very smallest and most helpless. "A person's a person no matter how small" is a refrain that has rung true with several generations of young readers, and it is a credo that is no less valid today than it was half a century ago. Although Horton is referring to the tiny inhabitants of Whoville, young readers know intuitively that the author is really speaking about them. That children both need and deserve the respect and protection of their elders is a point that is all too rarely made in children's literature. Come to think of it, don't all of need to be reassured once in a while that compassionate spirits like Horton can be counted upon to come forward in times of crisis to protect us from the likes of the gleefully ignorant Wickersham Brothers and the mean-spirited Vlad Vlad-i-koff?

Horton may not be the 67th book of the Bible but it should be. This is a classic story of self- sacrifice and the value of each person. This book instills self esteem in children and fosters caring and concern for others. On top of that, it's just plain fun to read. "Because after all, a person is a person no matter how small."

Horton Hears A Who! is probably my very favorite book by Dr. Seuss. Many reviewers point out that this is one book by Dr. Seuss that can be read and interpreted on more than one level--and that's quite grand. Children are encouraged to think philosophically about life and people who are not as well off as they may be. For younger children, though, this book still remains an interesting read on a more concrete, literal level; both groups of children are bound to benefit from reading this book. In addition, this book will also introduce vocabulary to young children and help them perfect their reading skills. Great!

The action starts when a rather kind and sensitive elephant named Horton is taking a bath in the jungle where he lives. Soon he hears a faint sound and he discovers the sound comes from a tiny group of people living on nothing much wider than a dust puff or (at most) a clover. They tell Horton that they need his help to protect themselves. When the kangaroo and the other creatures of the jungle find out that Horton thinks he's communicating with a dust puff, they ridicule him and refuse to even consider the possibility that Horton could be right. They eventually enlist the eagle to get rid of the dust puff.

Of course, from here the plot could go anywhere. Will Horton find the dust puff and be able to help the people of this tiny civilization get a better quality of life for themselves? Will the eagle throw the dust puff so far away that Horton can never find it again? Read the book and find out!

The illustrations are terrific and the prose is very well written with a lot of rhyming so typical of a Dr. Seuss book.

This book on a concrete level teaches children to read and increase their vocabulary while learning about kindness; older children can be introduced to the idea that some people are more equal than others and that social justice is very important in this world. This book can be read and re-read over and over again.

I highly recommend this book for children of various ages; they will learn much from this fine children's book.

Like most of Dr. Seuss's work, Horton Hears A Who can be taken at face value or read as a deeper allegory. I would like to concentrate on the first, as I believe there has been enough philosophizing done on this book to last for years.

Horton is an elephant who happens to hear a tiny little voice (by merit of his large ears, one would suspect) on a flower. Amazingly, he discovers an entire tiny city lving on this one flower! Everyone else in the jungle of Nool is critical, and tries to dissuade him of this--first peacably enough, but later with more hostility. In the end, Horton and all his Who-friends are able to save the day with a lot of teamwork and one little voice added to the fray.

Of course, your child probably won't care about many of the underlying themes at age 4--if Dr. Seuss's books were only dry life lessons, they wouldn't be classics. Yet, at the risk of going against my earlier promise, there is more than a good story here, and that's what ultimately makes this book rereadable at any age.

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

This is another book by Dr. Seuss that time and lots of little hands wore out my copy of the book before it could wear out the tale. Horton the Elephant (of egg hatching fame) is back again in this gentle tale. This time the elephant that's faithful one hundred percent is the only one who hears the inhabitants of Who-ville. Which just happens to exist on a speck of dust. Too small to have people? "A person's a person, no matter how small", Horton steadfastly maintains. A great book about having faith and determination. Lots of color pictures and easy to read words make it enjoyable for early readers and non-readers alike. Even older readers won't mind reading this tale again and again.