How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
"My egg!" shouted Horton. "My EGG! WHY, IT'S HATCHING!" (189)
Hatching, of course, is a huge and dramatic symbol of transformation, and the climax of Horton Hatches the Egg. What interests us here is the way Horton's feelings for the egg have changed over the fifty-one weeks he's been sitting on it. Up until now, he's been calling it "this egg" (67, 92). Now (it's about time!) he says "my egg" (ahem, "My EGG!"), revealing the way he really feels about it.
Quote #5
From the egg that he'd sat on so long and so well,
Horton the Elephant saw something whizz!IT HAD EARS
AND A TAIL
AND A TRUNK JUST LIKE HIS! (198-202)
Good luck explaining this one to your kids. The precocious ones who know a little about genetics might wonder if Horton was somehow the biological father of the egg in the first place. But hopefully they'll understand that the world of Horton is a little bit fantasy (and a lot bit Seuss), and Horton's devotion to the egg is so strong that he's somehow able to alter its DNA. Pretty cool trick. No wonder they say elephants are smart.