No Matter How Small: A movie, a little politics, and crafts

A Seussian clover

I went and caught Horton Hears a Who a few weeks ago, and boy did I like it.

I walked out thinking, dag, that was quietly heavy in a good way. Todd Walters finds better words over at The Millions where he wrote Horton Hears a Who! as Political Theater.

“Horton also stands accused, like Socrates before him, of corrupting society’s youth with his alternative vision of the natural world.”

I’m one who looked at it more this way: “…for most viewers, Horton Hears a Who! will be nothing more than a colorful story about two imaginary worlds with a simple take-home lesson: Respect the rights of others regardless of their physical stature or societal position.”

(Which, as someone who pays taxes and doesn’t get equal treatment from the government, I have to champion the message.)

But this post isn’t just about a great animated movie, or how I pine for equal rights. This is about a little something I made for a 5 year old girl who went and saw the movie with her dad this weekend.

How to make a clover for your very own Whoville.

Easy stuff to find at a fabric or craft store

Materials:

– A small piece from a bright pink feather boa (one boa can make about 20 clover)
An artificial flower (stripped of everything but the stem and a few leaves)
– and some stem wrap tape.

Cut the boa into a 3 inch strip, double it over the stem, and wrap about a half inch of the base with the green tape.

Now this isn’t the most sturdy of toys, but when you hand it over, remark how careful one must be with such a potential world. It seems to work just fine.