Horton Hears A Who! Author: Visit Amazon's Dr. Seuss Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0394800788 | Format: EPUB
Horton Hears A Who! Description
Amazon.com 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. This classic is not only fun, but a great way to introduce thoughtful children to essentially philosophical questions. How, after all, are we so sure there aren't invisible civilizations floating by on every mote? (Ages 4 to 8)
--Richard FarrReview
“Dr Seuss ignites a child’s imagination with his mischievous characters and zany verses.”
The Express
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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- Age Range: 5 - 9 years
- Grade Level: Kindergarten - 4
- Lexile Measure: 490L (What's this?)
- Hardcover: 72 pages
- Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; Reissue edition (August 12, 1954)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0394800788
- ISBN-13: 978-0394800783
- Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 14.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
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.
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