Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose by Dr. Seuss

Thidwick the moose spends his days with the herd at Lake Winna-Bango, happily munching on moose-moss. One day he meets a Bingle Bug who asks him if he could hitch a ride on his antlers for a little while. Thidwick hospitably obliges, pleased to use his antlers to make the bug comfortable. The bug, however, invites a spider, and a bird who then brings his wife and his uncle, who invites squirrels, and pretty soon the whole forest is living in poor Thidwick's antlers. Does Thidwick ask his "guests" to leave when his herd scorns him? When they keep him from migrating? When they drill holes in his antlers and pluck out his hairs? No! For he is a Big-Hearted Moose, and "a Host above all must be nice to his guests". However, this becomes a problem when winter hits and the hunters come. How can Thidwick play host to his guests while running for his life? You'll find out in the mildly comical, and yet poetically just ending.

Dr. Seuss books, while fun to read, often have an underlying moral or theme that runs through the story. The theme that comes out in my mind as I read this book is "Boundaries". Thidwick is indeed, a big-hearted moose. In spite of the personal discomfort he experiences from his demanding guests and the ridicule he receives from his herd, he continues to be hospitable, and tries to stay positive. These are difficult character traits to learn: Staying positive when the situation is less than ideal, and continuing to treat others with kindness and respect, ESPECIALLY when they are treating you with neither. These character traits are so valuable, and so hard to obtain, and so little practiced that I hesitate to even talk about boundaries for fear that will be the only thing taken from this review. However, I have seen too many people taken advantage of because of their big-hearted natures that I feel like it is an important topic to discuss.

Let me be clear: by boundaries, I do NOT mean a lack of generosity. But rather a generosity that knows where the line is between giving and enabling. Helping someone who is in genuine need, and even sacrificing personal time and resources for them is a noble thing. Sacrificing for people who don't appreciate you is an even nobler thing. However, when you cease to be able to take care of yourself, or your family, and the people you are sacrificing for HAVE other resources that they could be using, it is time to point them in that direction. The idea of helping them in the first place should be just that. HELPING them get to a place where they can take care of themselves, function on their own, get back on their feet, etc. That means there needs to be progress and effort on their part. If there is not, then you are no longer helping them. You are enabling them to take advantage of you and be lazy.

I am not talking about sick family members, or those who truly are not ABLE to take care of themselves. I am talking about those who can and don't.

Now, if I were reading this to young children I would focus on the contrasts between Thidwick's character and the character of the animals. Questions for discussion would include:
*What words would you use to describe Thidwick?
*What words would you use to describe the animals?
*How did the animals treat Thidwick?
*How did Thidwick treated the animals?
*Do you think Thidwick should have asked the animals to leave earlier in the story? Do you think there was a nice way to do this?
*What do you think about Thidwick's friends?
*How should we treat others that need our help?
*How should we treat people who are helping us?

This is a great book to use to discuss character traits and citizenship! It would also be a fun book to read if you were doing a school unit on Moose as it does reference actual facts about Moose habits. This book could be used to find rhyming words or to discuss rhyming style.

I would recommend this book to Elementary teachers, especially in the Kindergarten through Second grades, and anyone who wants to read a fun book to their kids.