Dr. Seuss's Horse Museum
By Regan McMahon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Horse guides kids on fun trip through art history.
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What's the Story?
DR. SUESS'S HORSE MUSEUM is based on a manuscript and sketches Ted Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) had stored in a box he had marked "Noble failures" that his widow found after his death in 1991 but didn't examine till 2013. His publisher hired Australian illustrator Andrew Joyner to complete the book (Geisel had indicated in his notes that he still needed to include examples of modern art) and bring it to life. The story starts with: "Art. What's it all about?" Then it follows two kids, a blond white boy and a brown-skinned, black-haired girl, as they're led through a museum by an upbeat talking horse guide who walks upright on two legs and dresses like a human, including wearing a jaunty bow tie. "Let's look at how different artists have seen horses," he says. "Maybe we can find some new ways of looking at them ourselves?" They proceed to take a tour (picking up other enthusiastic kids and families along the way) that shows horses in paintings, sculptures, on artifacts like ancient Greek vases, even on prehistoric cave paintings, up through examples of modern art. Photographs of 35 actual works of art appear among the cheery cartoon characters -- which include a few cameos from familiar Dr. Seuss book inhabitants.
Is It Any Good?
This amazing, lively introduction to art, art history, and museums is an utter delight. By focusing on one art subject -- horses -- kids will see how different interpretations can be, depending on the style and technique of the artist. Dr. Suess's Horse Museum captures the zany spirit of Dr. Seuss' books and the cartoon style of his characters, but illustrator Andrew Joyner doesn't try to replicate Seuss' drawing style -- except when a beloved Seuss character steps into a scene, like the Cat in the Hat, Horton the elephant, or a fish popping out of a teapot. Kids will have fun spotting those beloved characters.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the different art styles in Dr. Seuss's Horse Museum. Which styes do you like best -- realistic or not? Which paintings do you like best? What appeals to you about the ones you like?
Have you been to an art museum? Was your experience anything like the kids in the book have? If you haven't been, would you like to go now?
How many characters from Dr. Seuss books did you find in Dr. Seuss's Horse Museum? Who's your favorite?
Try drawing and animal you know -- like a cat, a dog, or a fish -- in two different art styles, then ask someone to look at them both and say how they're different.
Book Details
- Author: Dr. Seuss
- Illustrator: Andrew Joyner
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Arts and Dance , Horses and Farm Animals
- Book type: Non-Fiction
- Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
- Publication date: September 3, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 7 - 9
- Number of pages: 80
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: April 6, 2020
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