Horton and the kwuggerbug: and other lost storiesDr Seuss
HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780008131272
RRP: $19.99
The four stories in this collection were written for magazine columns in the early 50s; they have never been published in book form before. In the story of the title, loveable Horton is convinced by a kwuggerbug (with a name like that it has to be a nuisance) to carry him to the faraway beezlenut tree. Said bug has duplicitous mischief in mind but is not counting on the versatility of Horton’s trunk. The second story reprises Marco from And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street. In Marco is late his teacher asks for his excuse: Well, it’s like this... Something happened to me. And so the story grows, and grows... and grows. Children will find the nonsense hilarious. The third story also returns to Mulberry Street and accumulates exaggeration. How Officer Pat saved the town begins with the friendly officer spying a trivial incident which grows to a catastrophe by a series of embellishing what ifs? Luckily Officer Pat takes the initiative. The final story is very short: The Hoobub and the Grinch with that notorious trickster trying to sell a piece of string to a hoobub. Apparently it happens more commonly than we think! More gold to add to the Seussian treasure chest.
