I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose
by
Dr. Seuss
fantasy, picture book in Hardcover edition that was published by Random House for Young Readers on September 12, 1962 and has 48 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Sneetches and Other Stories, Horton Hatches the Egg & Horton Hears a Who!, Green Eggs and Ham, The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories, The Lorax, Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!, Daisy-Head Mayzie, The King's Stilts, Scrambled Eggs Super!, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories, You're Only Old Once!, My Many Colored Days, McElligot's Pool, If I Ran the Circus, Sleep Book, I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! and Other Stories, I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
A standalone story at Lake Winna-Bango about a quite polite moose who is taken advantage of by too many guests.
My Take
Poor Thidwick is much too nice and polite. And for all my ranting about generations younger to mine not learning manners or being polite to others (ain’t that always the way of the old folks, lol!), one of the “manners” I wish I’d been taught was how to be politely NOT nice.
Thidwick’s mother must have rammed it home too well that guests should be accommodated. And I don’t think his fellow moose had mothers like Thidwick’s, as they were quite mean. Thidwick’s guests certainly weren’t taught any manners. They are so rude and selfish. And not far-thinking a’tall, a’tall!
The illustrations are sweetly Seuss. I loved the one with Thidwick watching his herd mates swimming across the lake while he has his many, many guests nesting in his antlers. And do enjoy the dedication at the start. It was too cutely sweet with the moose moss for Helen.
The end!! The end!! What. A. Crackup! Yeah for Thidwick, ROFLMAO.
The Story
Having been brought up so well, Thidwick naturally extends his hospitality to Bingle Bug for a ride. A ride that Bingle Bug takes entirely too much for granted.
The Characters
Thidwick is the last moose in line.
Bingle Bug, a Spider, a Zinn-a-zu Bird, Uncle is a woodpecker, Herman is a squirrel, a Bobcat, a Turtle, a Fox, Mice, Fleas, a Bear, and some Bees.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a vibrant turquoise background with a black-and-white illustration of a moose amongst the foliage and a sign stretched between his antlers providing the title. His name is in a rusty orange (as is the author’s name) with the rest of the title in the same turquoise.
The title is his downfall, for Thidwick the Big Hearted Moose simply cannot say no.
