School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 3-Revisit some old friends and make a few new ones with this wonderful book of lost Seuss stories, previously published in Redbook magazine during the 1950s. These four gems are further evidence of the timelessness of Dr. Seuss. In "Horton and the Kwuggerbug," Horton (almost) gets bamboozled by a clever, conniving Kwuggerbug. In "Marco Comes Late," Marco's tall tale is an imaginative masterpiece, but it fails to fool his teacher, Miss Block. The very keen and alert Officer Pat's forward-chaining logic-starting with a gnat and a cat-saves the town from utmost certainty of being blown to smithereens in "How Officer Pat Saved the Whole Town." In "The Hoobub and the Grinch" the world is full of Grinches trying to sell Hoobubs swamp land, bridges, or in this case, green string. Chris Cox's rhythmical narration is perfect. Included is a brief commentary on Dr. Seuss' writing career by Seuss scholar Charles D. Cohen. VERDICT This is a great choice for Seuss fans of all ages.-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Charles D. Cohen, the avid Seussian behind The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories, presents another four little-known manuscripts by Theodor Seuss Geisel. In his introduction, Cohen contextualizes the tales, which were published in Redbook and never became full-fledged picture books. In the title tale, "Horton and the Kwuggerbug" (1951), an insect and "terrible fellow! That Kwuggerbug guy" fools gentle Horton into ferrying him across an alligator-infested river and up a mountain to a delicious, out-of-reach Beezlenut tree. "Marco Comes Late" (1950) reprises And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street as Marco exaggerates his reasons for arriving late to school. Mulberry Street's escalating formula likewise figures in "How Officer Pat Saved the Whole Town" (1950), about a policeman who anticipates trouble on a quiet day. The most interesting entry is a two-page fragment, "The Hoobub and the Grinch" (1955), in which a proto-Grinch character urges a gullible creature to pay 98' for some string. By no means gems, these archives suggest how Geisel tinkered with characters, developed his signature tetrameter, and commented on ethical issues, circa 1950. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
