''Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories'' is an anthology of children's stories written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss, published posthumously by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

in 2014.

Background

The four stories in this book were originally published as installments of a monthly column that Dr. Seuss wrote for ''

Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publication as of January 2019 and now operates an article-comprise ...

'' during the 1950s. Dr. Seuss died in 1991, but the stories were later rediscovered by Seuss scholar Charles D. Cohen.

Plots

The four stories included in the book are as follows: * "Horton and the Kwuggerbug": A Kwuggerbug lands on

Horton the Elephant Horton the Elephant is a fictional character from the 1940 book ''Horton Hatches the Egg'' and 1954 book ''Horton Hears a Who!'', both by Dr. Seuss. In both books and subsequent media, Horton is characterized as a kind, sweet-natured and naïve e ...

's trunk and asks him to take him to his beezlenut tree, which Horton agrees to since when they get there the bug promises that Horton will get half the nuts. The journey to the beezlenut tree is quite hazardous, and Horton falls upon such hardships as swimming across a large crocodile infested river and climbing a large and rocky mountain, while the Kwuggerbug takes advantage of Horton's good nature. In the end, the Kwuggerbug tries to double-cross Horton, but a well-timed sneeze makes things more even. * "Marco Comes Late": Marco from ''

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street ''And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street'' is Theodor Seuss Geisel's first Children's literature, children's book published under the pen name Dr. Seuss. First published by Vanguard Press in 1937, the story follows a boy named Marco, who ...

'' explains to his teacher, Miss Block, why he was late for school. His explanation involves a bird who landed on his books and laid an egg there, and various animals who argue over whether he should protect the egg or get to school on time. In the end, the teacher (understandably) sees through the tall tale for the morsel of truth. * "How Officer Pat Saved the Whole Town": Officer Pat sees a gnat about to disturb a cat and realizes this could be the start of a string of disasters that could obliterate the town. He intervenes and the town is saved. * "The Hoobub and the Grinch": A very short story in which a con-artist (named the Grinch, but having virtually no resemblance to the curmudgeon later featured in '' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!'') convinces a Hoobub that a piece of green string is better than the sun.

Reception

Michael Taube of ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'' was enthusiastic about the book: "If you loved Dr. Seuss as a child (and as an adult), these little-known stories will bring back many fond memories". The reviewer for ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' was more critical: "By no means gems, these archives suggest how Geisel tinkered with characters, developed his signature

tetrameter In poetry, a tetrameter is a line of four metrical feet. The particular foot can vary, as follows: * ''Anapestic tetrameter:'' ** "And the ''sheen'' of their ''spears'' was like ''stars'' on the ''sea''" (Lord Byron, "The Destruction of Sennacher ...

, and commented on ethical issues, circa 1950".

References

{{Dr. Seuss 2014 short story collections 2014 children's books American picture books Books about elephants Books about cats Books published posthumously Books by Dr. Seuss Random House books