The Wump World by Bill Peet

Bill Peet

Bill Peet , was an American children's book illustrator and a story writer for Disney Studios...

 (1970) is a children's book about imaginary

Imaginary

Imaginary can refer to:* Imaginary , a concept in sociology* Imaginary number, a concept in mathematics* Imaginary time, a concept in physics* Imagination, a mental faculty* Object of the mind, an object of the imagination* Imaginary friend...

 creatures, known as Wumps. These Wumps look somewhat like a cross between a capybara

Capybara

The capybara , also known as capivara in Portuguese, and capibara, chigüire in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador ronsoco in Peru, chigüiro, and carpincho in Spanish, is the largest living rodent in the world. Its closest relatives are agouti, chinchillas, coyphillas, and guinea pigs...

 (sometimes called a water hog) and a moose

Moose

The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...

. The story about these Wumps takes place on their own planet

Planet

A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

, hence the name The Wump World. A race of blue

Blue

Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...

 humanoids named the Pollutians overruns the Wump World, causing the Wumps to flee to the safety of underground caves. The Pollutians build great cities and colonise, dirtying

Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...

 the air, water, and plowing down entire forests and grasslands, which the Wumps rely on for food and water. The Pollutians reach trouble when the air becomes too polluted, and their leaders send scouts

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

 to search for another planet. One scout returns, claiming that he has found a bigger and better world; upon hearing this news the entire Pollutian populace leaves the planet, leaving their thickly polluted cities. When the world above grows quiet, the Wumps emerge to find a changed world, a deserted "concrete jungle". The Pollutians, having used up every natural resource, have left; but all is not lost, as the book ends with a message of hope about nature's ability to recover and a small flower sprouting up between the cracks of a sidewalk.

The book is similar to his previous work Farewell to Shady Glade. Dr. Seuss's The Lorax

The Lorax

The Lorax is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, who speaks for the trees against the greedy Once-ler. As in most Dr...

, a similar book, was also published the year after.