''The Wump World'' by

Bill Peet William Bartlett Peet (''né'' Peed; January 29, 1915 – May 11, 2002) was an American children's book illustrator and a story writer and animator for Walt Disney Animation Studios. Peet joined Disney in 1937 and worked first on ''Snow Wh ...

(1970) is a children's book taking place on an imaginary planet. It is about the near destruction of the only habitat of creatures known as Wumps. These Wumps look somewhat like a cross between a

capybara The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...

(sometimes called a water hog) and a

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

Plot

The story about these Wumps takes place on their own planet, hence the name ''The Wump World''. A race of blue humanoids named the Pollutians overruns the Wump World, causing the Wumps to flee to the safety of caves. The Pollutians build great cities and colonise, dirtying the air, water, and plowing down entire forests and grasslands, which the Wumps rely on for food and water. The Pollutians reach trouble when the air becomes too polluted, and their leaders send

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

to search for another planet. One scout returns, claiming that he has found a bigger and better world; upon hearing this news the entire Pollutian populace leaves the planet, leaving their thickly polluted cities. When the world above grows quiet, the Wumps emerge to find a changed world, a deserted "concrete jungle". The Pollutians, having used up almost every natural resource, have left. Fortunately for the Wumps, they find a park still filled with still-living plant life (including trees and grass) and a river. Though the book ends with a message of hope about nature's ability to recover and a small plant sprouting up between the cracks of a sidewalk, it notes that the Wump World would never be quite the same. The book is similar to Peet's previous work '' Farewell to Shady Glade''. Dr. Seuss's ''

The Lorax ''The Lorax'' is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss and published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, the titular character, who "speaks for the trees" and confronts the Once-ler, a business magnate who cause ...

'', another similar book, was also published the year after.

External links

THE WUMP WORLD
at billpeet.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Wump World American picture books Environmental fiction books Picture books by Bill Peet Books by Bill Peet 1970 children's books