#23 in Picture books
Horton Hatches the Egg
- 55
- Pages
- about 1 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“Horton Hatches the Egg” is Dr. Seuss at his most endearing, a rhyming tale of loyalty with real suspense and a joyful payoff. Mayzie talks Horton the Elephant into sitting on her egg, then leaves for Palm Beach for good, and he keeps his word through every hardship. His stubborn faithfulness is both comic and touching, and the ending rewards it handsomely. At fifty-five pages, it is made for reading aloud.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Horton Hatches the Egg is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published in 1940 by Random House. The book tells the story of Horton the Elephant, who is tricked into sitting on a bird's egg while its mother, Mayzie, takes a permanent vacation to Palm Beach. Horton endures a number of hardships but persists, often stating, "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent!" Ultimately, the egg hatches, revealing an elephant-bird, a creature with a blend of Mayzie's and Horton's features.
Reading order · Horton the Elephant
Full order & progress →- Horton Hatches the EggThis book
7.87.8 / 10 - Horton Hears a Who!Horton Hears a Who!–Not ranked yet
- Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost StoriesHorton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories–Not ranked yet
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.6 across 52 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 26% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Picture books average of 8.3. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.0 | 7 | 14% |
| Hardcover | 7.5 | 45 | 87% |
Frequently asked
What age is Horton Hatches the Egg for?
Horton Hatches the Egg sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 55 pages — shorter than 88% of the ranked books in Picture books.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Picture books — with scores between 7.7 and 8.1, closest to this book.
