Will I love Horton Hatches the Egg?

I loved this book as a kid, and I make a reference to this classic in a chapter of my book.

Whenever I want to quit a particularly frustrating endeavor, I still hear Horton’s voice in my head: “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant.” Those words, spoken by a cartoon elephant, have helped me persevere and taught me the importance of loyalty and keeping my word.

It’s a message as meaningful for adults as it is for children.

Asking a kind person to do a good deed isn’t usually considered bullying. But there is such a thing as taking advantage of kindness.

Mayzie, the lazy bird, convinces Horton to sit on her egg while she takes a vacation. She promises to be back soon, but doesn’t keep her word. Soon all the other animals tease Horton for sitting on that egg. But Horton sits on that egg, through rain, snow, and heat. He even keeps his word when hunters capture him and take him, egg, nest, tree, and all to America and sell him to a circus.

Mayzie… show more.

As a child, I adored the picture books written and illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. Although it’s tough to beat The Cat in the Hat, I think my favorite story was Horton Hatches the Egg, which combines classic absurdist humor with a heartfelt message. Horton may look ridiculous, perched on a bird’s nest in a tree, mocked by friends, and carted off to be humiliated at a zoo, but the faithful elephant is rewarded with a baby elephant-bird. As Lewis Carroll demonstrated, the best stories convey life lessons without browbeating readers with didactic,… show more.