Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose was not only written by, but also illustrated by, Mr. Seuss himself. Sorry, Dr. Seuss. He didn't go to medical school for eight years, but he's earned that Dr. all the same.

As with a many of his early postwar children's books, Thidwick is illustrated with black ink for outlining and what looks like ink and charcoal for shading. It also displays a very limited color palette, with red and blue holding down the fort.

The colors are used sparingly, highlighting rather than dominating the illustrations. Notice that Thidwick and the squirrels have just a hint of red in their fur, and the turtle's shell is blue but not entirely colored in. The lake and the sky get the most color, but the trees and bushes are rendered entirely in black and white, providing them an almost ghostly quality. As a result, the eye focuses more on the characters than on the setting (more on that over in the "Setting" section, so be sure to check it out).

However, in a few pictures—such as the illustration of the hunters chasing Thidwick—the setting comes more to the forefront, and we can get a better sense for it. True to Seuss form, the landscape is very rounded, very steep, and very droopy. Its surreal quality is a little less noticeable than in his other works, since Seuss is playing with natural world rather than typically rigid, rectangular buildings. So it comes off as more, well, natural. But it's still a Seuss world, make no mistake.

More Seuss signatures are also present in the characters. Most of the animals have a furry texture to them, and the characters also appear very flexible and free-flowing in their bodies. Even in the tensest situations, the characters stay loose. Their faces are malleable and form many expressions, especially Thidwick, whose frown droops his entire face, but whose smile also stands tall and proud.

Motion lines are used a little more sparingly than in other Seuss works, but the characters are still quite animated at key moments. The Bingle Bug jumps for joy after winning the vote, bullets whiz by Thidwick's head, and Thidwick's freeloaders are very expressive with their arms and hands.

These illustrations cover the whole page, wrapping around the words and making them as much a part of the reading experience.

The Good Stuff

Seuss's illustrations enhance the tone and atmosphere of the story as it's told in words. As you'll read in the "Writing Style" section, Thidwick's anapestic meter provides a comic and frolicking pace for Thidwick's tale of woe, and the pictures help keep said woe from being too woeful.

With that said, there are still moments when things seem a little less than hilarious for poor old Thidwick. For example: "Now the big friendless moose walked alone and forlorn, / With four great big woodpecker holes in his horn" (20.1-2) and "Thidwick took to his heels with that load on his head! / With five hundred pounds on his horns, the moose fled!" (39.1-2). Bummers, right? Worry not, though, because this is where the illustrations come in to provide some comic relief.

The pictures' cartoony vibe always helps to provide the story a sense of exaggeration, the keystone of comedy. So even when Thidwick is close to starving, his body language and facial expressions are totally embellished. His body and face droop and sag way lower than is possible outside of animation, and then there is the menagerie a top his horns—the sight of which is always worth a chuckle, despite how horrible it must be for Thidwick.

When the hunters chase Thidwick round Lake Winna-Bango, the stakes are high and the tempo's intense, but again the illustrations bring the proceedings into the realm of the exaggerated. The hunters look like caricatures, shooting every which way, pointing, and leaping off every rock and surface. Think more clown-car-gone-wrong than cold-blooded-killers.

Granted, it must be awful to be in Thidwick's predicament, and as we discussed in our "What Is This Book Really About?" section, there are some serious lessons to be taken from the story. Yet the first thing Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose is about is fun, and Seuss's illustrations keep it light-hearted even when things get heavy for that big-hearted moose.