Rhyming

First published 1948

The first in my Dr. Seuss rereads. I bet I haven't touched a Dr. Seuss book since I was a kiddo. The rhyme, meter, and wordplay is just off-the-charts awesome. (I know, I know, I'm discovering America here.) The end of this one though. Ooof. A little harsh. (But maybe not if you're six?) ( )

I do like this book. It is funny and classic Seuss language. However, the message seems odd to me. I don't know if he is saying we shouldn't be warm hearted because everyone will mistreat us, turn their backs on us and bring us nothing but suffering; or that if we are warmhearted, no matter what bad things come our way, in the end we will find peace and relief from our suffering. ( )

Marching along one day, munching on moose-moss and enjoying life with his herd, the eponymous Thidwick finds himself granting a little Bingle Bug's request to ride along on his antlers**. After all, this prospective guest is tiny, and it wouldn't really effect Thidwick one way or another. Unfortunately for our cervine hero, the bug is just the first in a series of ever larger creatures that decide to take up residence in his antlers. None of these newcomers, from the spiders to the Zinn-a-zu Birds, the woodpecker to the squirrels, asks Thidwick for his permission to move in, but they all strenuously object when he attempts to follow his herd across Lake Winna-Bango, in search of the food he needs. Karma is coming for these pests however, and when Thidwick is pursued by human hunters, his realization that he is about to shed his antlers leads both to his own freedom, and to some just desserts for the freeloaders...

Originally published in 1948, Thidwick the Bighearted Moose was Dr. Seuss' sixth picture-book, following upon And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937), The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1938), The King's Stilts (1939), Horton Hatches the Egg (1940) and McElligot's Pool (1947). It is a book that I recall reading many times in my childhood, and although I had not picked it up in many years, I still had vivid memories of the image of Thidwick stumbling along underneath the immense weight of all of his uninvited "guests." This current reread was prompted by my recently undertaken Dr. Seuss retrospective, in which I plan to read and review all forty-four of his classic picture-books, in chronological publication order. This is a project I began as an act of personal protest against the suppression of six of the author/artist's titles - And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, McElligot's Pool, If I Ran the Zoo, Scrambled Eggs Super!, On Beyond Zebra! and The Cat's Quizzer - by Dr. Seuss Enterprises. See my review of And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, to be found HERE, for a fuller exploration of my thoughts on that matter.

Leaving that unfortunate and highly objectionable development aside, this is an entertaining and thought-provoking picture-book, as enjoyable now as when I first had it read to me, in my early childhood. It pairs a witty story told in rhyme with appealing, humorous artwork, and explores the reality that unlimited kindness and forbearance can be very damaging for the one being kind. Through its story of Thidwick, who tries to grin and bear it, despite the outrageous and abusive behavior of his 'guests,' it seems to argue for the idea of balance, and for the notion that one shouldn't allow oneself to be taken advantage of, in the name of either politeness or generosity. Finding this kind of balance can be tricky, even for adults, so Dr. Seuss is to be commended for introducing these ideas to young children, and for giving them a model of what can happen, when one doesn't stand up for oneself. Of course, the story can also be read as a warning of how not to behave as a guest, demonstrating that those who make a pest of themselves, and who take advantage of others, will find themselves very unwelcome. The artwork, done in black and white, with reddish and blue-green accents, feels like a return to an earlier style, after the magical multi-colored world of McElligot's Pool. Despite its more limited palette however, the illustrations are immensely expressive, capturing both the humor and horror of poor Thidwick's situation.

All in all, Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose is yet another Dr. Seuss title worthy of its status as a childhood classic, and is one I would recommend to all picture-books readers.

**Please note that although Dr. Seuss uses the term "horns," moose have antlers. Antlers are found on cervids, are made of bone, are usually branched, and are shed every year. Horns are found on bovids, are made of bone and keratin, are not branched, and are permanent. ( )