Horton Hatches the Egg tribute

by Sally Huss
(La Jolla, CA, USA)

There never was a writer as clever as Seuss.
There never was an artist as inventive as Seuss.
His characters were mischievous and fun.
Some were smart, some were jolly, some even dumb.
They wore top hats and had tails, ate eggs and ham.
And had names like Mayzie, Horton and Sam-I-Am.
Nope, there never was a writer or illustrator…
That could make a children's book better!
"Dr." Seuss!? My foot! No way! Oh, no!
"Saint" Seuss would be more apropos!

Dr. Seuss came into my life on the wings of Mayzie, that dingbat, lazy bird who cons the kind-hearted Horton the elephant into sitting on her egg while she takes a vacation down to Palm Beach. The absurdity of the story, the adventures Horton suffers through, and the enchanting drawings depicting the story pulled me into the world of Seuss. Lucky me.

As with most of the Seuss books, hidden within that story is a lesson. It is put in such a delectable way any child would swallow it. As Horton defends his stubbornness in regard to sitting on that egg, he says, "I meant what I said and I said what I meant, And an elephant's faithful, one hundred per cent!"

Now, I'm not sure that that line had anything to do with the fact that as I look back at the 60 years of my life since I read this book, I have always been true to my word. I do what I say.

As I write my own stories and draw my own characters I oftentimes have the feeling Ted Geisel is looking over my shoulder or whispering in my ear.

He had lived and created his literary masterpieces in the town I live in -- La Jolla, California. I sometimes stop into a gallery on Prospect that shows Dr. Seuss' work, his prints, and original drawings and paintings. They reveal his tremendous talent.

From the lines of his words to the lines of his art it is obvious that Theodor Seuss Geisel was a genius! I thought I was lucky, but lucky too are the zillions of kids all over the world who have had the pleasure of experiencing Seuss' creations.

Sally Huss is the author and illustrator of A Boat Full of Animals (reviewed on this site) and the proprietor of Happy Children's Books.

Horton Hatches the Egg receives a full review elsewhere on this site.