View source for Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories by Dr Seuss

{{infobox2
|title=Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories
|author=Dr Seuss
|reviewer=Sam Tyler
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A collection of rare stories from Dr Suess are combined in this book that is a boon for any fan looking for some new adventures.
|rating=4
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Maybe
|pages=48
|publisher=Harper Collins Children's Books
|date=February 2016
|isbn=9780008131272
|website=http://www.seussville.com/
|video=1CcGpvItElY 
|aznuk=0008131279
|aznus=0008131279
|cover=0008131279
}}

Going back and revisiting characters once an author has died is not always the best idea, too often the result smacks of a cash in that does not have any of the charm of the original.  However, revisiting lesser works by the author is a different thing.  If a fan has all the writer's books, but never managed to get their hands on their obscure short stories or tales written for magazines, a new collection may just work.  Even for as eccentric an author as Dr Seuss.

''Horton and the Kwuggerbug'' is a collection of four stories of varying lengths which have been gleaned from the Dr Seuss archive.  Their relative obscurity is down to the fact that they come from magazines, rather than the slightly longer format books that Seuss is famed for.  This book is packed with some of the characters fans will know well; from the titular Horton to the likes of The Grinch.  The main tale is all about Horton and his naivety as he follows the mischievous Kwuggerbug up a mountain in search of some delicious berries. 

The vault of Dr Seuss has already been raided recently in the special edition of [[What Pet Should I Get by Dr Seuss|What Pet Should I Get]], but unlike this book ''Horton'' is a group of stories which was given the Seuss seal of approval.  One of the issues with ''What Pet'' was that it was found unfinished as if Seuss was not that pleased with the results, in fact some elements where rescued in a later book.  ''Horton'' is not like this, the stories may be unfamiliar to fans, but they all went through Seuss' strict editing before he allowed them to be published; for this reason, this a superior collection.

Although this outing is closer to vintage Seuss, it is not a masterpiece like some of his best known work.  Instead, this is more of a love letter for fans hungry for a few more adventures they may have missed.  The Horton story itself is the standout and feels like a full book length in itself, the other stories are not quite as strong; both ''How Officer Pat Saved the Whole Town'' and ''Marco Comes Late'' are great fun, but feel a little sparse.  The final story; ''The Hoobub and the Grinch'' is very brief and must have been a one page spread back in the day.  All the tales are worth a read for fans of the author as you get new adventures, but also some new illustrations.

The drawings are all Dr Seuss drawn or inspired and as always add to the written word.  The correlation between text and image is more biased towards text here than in most of his books as the editors have used the limited illustrations on offer.  If any of the short stories had been made into a book I would imagine that far more pictures would have been present and as this is one of the most fun elements of a Seuss book.  This does mean that this collection is a little dryer than some other works.

This latest ensemble of lost works by Dr Seuss is not the collection that you should look to first when reading the author as it is good, but not great.  Instead, this is a book collated for the person who is already a fan.  Adults will enjoy finding new Horton and Grinch tales, whilst children who have read a few other Dr Seuss books will still enjoy having the stories read to them and looking at the pictures.  Unlike ''What Pet'', this new discovery from the vaults feels like something that is really worth purchasing by the fans – I for one have enjoyed them.

By all means try out [[What Pet Should I Get by Dr Seuss|What Pet Should I Get]] or just try one of his classics; [[The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss|The Cat in the Hat]]

{{amazontext|amazon=0008131279}}
{{amazonUStext|amazon=0008131279}}

{{commenthead}}