n  One of the best Dr. Seuss' stories ever!n


n  PRICELESS TALEn

n  I’ll just have to save him. Because, after all,n

n  A person’s a person, no matter how small,n

Without a doubt, one of the crowned jewels of Dr. Seuss’ work, presenting one of his strongest messages to the human civilization.

Horton, the elephant, appears again (he was introduced to the world in Horton Hatches the Egg), which is one of the most famous characters of Dr. Seuss.

Horton hears a Who (as quite adequately indicates the tale’s title) in a speck of dust, but since he is the only one with big ears (an elephant, remember?) in the jungle, the rest of animals there think that Horton is lying about it, since nobody else is able to hear the feble voice of the Who.

But it’s not just any Who, but the Who Mayor of Who-ville! A whole town, in a speck of dust.

How wonderful indeed was the mind of Dr. Seuss!

What a large quantity of stories he was able to take from a tiny speck of dust!

Just imagine how many more stories are in the rest of millions of specks of dust!

This charming tale stands up and becomes a relevant reading for everybody to understand the respect to any kind of life,...

...not matter how small.

Horton the elephant defends the community of Whos living in small Whoville housed on a speck of dust. To better protect the smallest of the small, Horton cushions the speck of dust on a clover.

The animals also living in the jungle with Horton all doubt his claims that small persons are living in the dust speck and do all they can to make his task even more difficult. Forever faithful Horton, though, doesn't give up and he encourages every Who down in Whoville to raise his voice so tat the other animals might hear them and understand his vow to protect them.

The Whos raise a racket, but it ins't enough. That's when the Mator searches all of Whoville until he finds one small voice not making so much as a peep. When the smallest of all voices joins the chorus, it is then that the animals hear the Whos and vow to protect them alongside Horton.

I LOVE the character of Horton. He's everything we hope to be as humans: kind, faithful, and moral. The happy ending is greatly appreciated here and the message that every voice is important. It's tough to read about Horton's many trials, but I'm so glad he's tough enough to endure.

"A person's a person, no matter how small." I loved this story more than The Cat in the Hat. Straightforward and simple, but with great meaning as well.

I cannot read a Seuss’s book and not be smiling at the end for quite a moment.

My birth year, 1954, saw the publication of Horton Hears A Who!, by Theodor Seuss Geisel aka Dr. Seuss. This is Seuss’ 11th book and the second (and last) in the series featuring the lovable elephant.

In the book, Horton’s huge ears, which have hearing superior to all of the other animals, hear a small voice emanating from a dust speck that floats by. The speck of dust is actually a tiny planet, home to a city called Who-ville, inhabited by microscopic-sized inhabitants known as Whos. He rescues the dust by placing it on a clover, but the news that Horton is hearing voices spreads throughout the jungle. In order to save themselves, the Whos must make themselves heard to the other animals, and that requires the efforts of every Who in Whoville.

Dr. Seuss’ books are beloved for their lively rhymes, wacky vocabulary, and beyond-imaginative drawings.

And while kids are enjoying all that, they’re learning life lessons. In Horton hears a Who, these include:
• the importance of not giving up, no matter how tired you might be;
• the value of each person’s contribution, no matter how small, to the overall effort of the group (although this bordered on promoting nationalism); and, of course,
• a strong anti-prejudice message, that could be applied to size, color, (dis)ability, or any other factor which could set anyone apart as “different”.

Geisel’s birthday, March 2, has been adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day, an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association. Although I’m not a big celebrator of birthdays, I thought it an appropriate day to feature a book that I knew and loved as a child.

This past week, I mailed an animated video of Horton Hears a Who! to my grandson Steven. I hope that after he’s watched it, he’ll be open to hearing the story read to him over the phone.

In addition to the Books Published in the First Years of My Life challenge, this also qualifies for the Illustrated Year’s Picture Book Challenge, and several TBR & off-the-shelf challenges.

Afterthought: Wikipedia says:
Geisel’s pen name is regularly pronounced /ˈsjuːs/ SEWSS, an anglicized pronunciation inconsistent with his German surname.

He himself noted that it rhymed with “voice” (his own pronunciation being /ˈsɔɪs/ SOYSS) and Alexander Liang (his collaborator on the Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern) wrote of him:
You’re wrong as the deuce
And you shouldn’t rejoice
If you’re calling him Seuss.
He pronounces it Soice[37] (or Zoice)

Geisel eventually switched to the anglicized pronunciation because it “evoked a figure advantageous for an author of children’s books to be associated with—Mother Goose” and because most people used this pronunciation.

I don't get it. Why can Horton hear a "who" but can't hear me? I have been calling him for the past 3 years and this dumb elephant doesn't respond. Like what the heck? He should be ready for me 24/7 and for that I am mad. This book has 0 figurative language, therefore, however, hypothetically, theoretically, for the sake of argument, it's on the contrary.

Me sorprendió bastante la cantidad de enseñanzas que tiene este librito infantil.

n  “Una persona es una persona por muy pequeña que sea.”n

Nothing beats the grinch though... or green eggs and ham

A lovely story about standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves. Plus, showing that even the smallest person can make a huge difference in the world.

This was sweet!

I read this book when I was a child, and I re-read it now. I still enjoyed every page of it! Horton as usual relaxing in the pool in the Jungle, hears a speck of dust calling for help. He offers his help to the whos in who-ville and protects the speck of dust by putting it on a soft clover. Holding the clover tightly with his trunk, the kangaroo and the monkeys believe Horton has gone nuts. The monkeys take his clover and hand it to the eagle who drops it in a clover field, but Horton found it because a person is a person no matter how big or small.
Horton is a round character because you can see his personality traits with the illustrations and words, by the actions he show how he gently puts the speck of dust on the soft clover. Horton is also a static character because he does not change throughout the story, he continues to help the whos in who-ville no matter what obstacle he goes through. The point of view in this story is limited omniscient because we the reader see actions through only Horton, we see how he feels and believes by not letting go of the speck of dust in the soft clover. The illustrations connect with the text perfectly, we can see that the small text is when the mayor from whoville is speaking, we can also see the angry expressions the kangaroo has in the illustrations and the exclamations points used when she speaks. We can also see the change of color when it is night time when Horton follow the eagle. Also we can see in the illustrations that they pin point to what we see what's colored is the action happening when they mention Jo-Jo. I would definitely read this to children, because it is engaging and can teach a good moral lesson, It is definitely a good read.

I like the rhymes that author makes in every story he tells, so cute.
Timeless with a reason.

Another wonderful Dr. Seuss book that will be passed through your family for generations to come. My twin 3 yr olds recognized this book immediately when I brought it home, having saw the movie version not too long ago. It didn't matter, they were still fascinated with it. From every picture to every rhyme, they were enthralled. They love yelling out "We are here!" along with the Who's. Even my 5 yr old got into it. A fun read that's for the whole family.