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Horton Hears a Who! is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and was published in 1954. It is the second Dr. Seuss book to feature Horton the Elephant, the first being Horton Hatches the Egg.  It’s allegorical importance cannot be over emphasised, especially now.

Below is an edited transcript from Reading Rockets' interview with Audrey Geisel.

Every book had something that was morally important, but rather masked, but always there. Otherwise, Ted would not have said from time to time, "Am I getting preachy?" He did not wish to seem to be preaching. He was putting forth a variety of messages. Case in point: Horton. "A person's a person, no matter how small."

The book tells the story of Horton the Elephant, who, while splashing in a pool, hears a small speck of dust talking to him. Horton surmises that a small person lives on the speck and places it on a clover, vowing to protect it. He later discovers that the speck is actually a tiny planet, home to a community called Whoville, where microscopic creatures called Whos live. The Mayor of Whoville asks Horton to protect them from harm, which Horton happily agrees to, proclaiming throughout the book that "a person’s a person, no matter how small."