The cat in the hat word

Perhaps the best-known of Dr. Seuss’s rhyming books, ‘The Cat in the Hat’, was published in 1957. It uses anthropomorphism to describe a tall, black, and white cat that wears and red and white striped hat and red bowtie. Seuss wrote this book as a response to discussions about the effectiveness of the current market of children’s literature. The book was an immediate success and has remained so since.

Summary

‘The Cat in the Hat’ by Dr. Seuss is a light-hearted children’s book that describes the antics of the cat in the hat.

The story takes place in a short period of time, starting out with the cat barging into Sally and her brother’s home and showing off his balancing skills. As the fish predicted, the cat falls, making a huge mess of everything he was holding. As if to remedy the problem, he brings in Thing One and Thing Two, who only make the mess worse. Finally, in the end, the cat comes back with his huge cleaning machine and gets everything sorted right before the children’s mother gets home. 

You can read the full book here.

Inspiration 

The origins of ‘The Cat in the Hat’ have several different explanations. The main one, which has likely become apocryphal at this point, fits in perfectly with the reader’s image of Theodor Geisel. Geisel noted personally that he wrote the book in response to a Life magazine article titled “Why Do Students Bog Down on First R? A Local Committee Sheds Light on a National Problem: Reading”. In it, the writer John Hersey criticized the normal “school primers” that young kids were made to read, such as those featuring Dick and Jane. 

They were overwhelmingly boring, Hersey believed, as did Geisel. He was determined to write a book for six/seven-year-olds that made them want to read it. The vocabulary in the novel was inspired by a list of words that all young children should know. The final version of ‘The Cat in the Hat’ only uses 236 words, a solid representation of the list. Geisel described at one point that he was frustrated with that very list of words and finally ended up choosing the first two that rhymed to create his story. They were, of course, “cat” and “hat”. Other accounts suggest he got the inspiration from a woman in white gloves on an elevator. 

Structure and Form

‘The Cat in the Hat’ by Dr. Seuss is a sixty-one-page children’s book that Weisel published in 1957. The book has 31 pages on which text appears, all of which are analyzed in this article. The majority of the lines in ‘The Cat in the Hat’ rhyme in a pattern of ABCB, although sometimes there are alterations. Dr. Seuss often made use of other common patterns like AABB and ABAB. Although Seuss’s use of nonsense language is less evident in this book than in others, it is still worthy of discussion in relation to ‘The Cat in the Hat’. 

Literary Devices 

Dr. Seuss makes use of several literary devices in ‘The Cat in the Hat’. These include but are not limited to alliteration, repetition, and humor. The latter is one of the most important techniques at work in the poem/book. Readers, especially young readers, are meant to laugh at the Cat in the Hat’s antics. The perfectly rhymed language, in addition to the lighthearted content and illustrations, are an all-around pleasing and humorous package. 

The cat shows off his balancing skills at the beginning of the book, adding more and more complex items to his piles. His inevitable crashing fall to the ground is only one moment that a young reader might find funny. 

Seuss also used anthropomorphism in a humorous way. He dressed the cat in a hat and allows the fish to chastise the children and express his general displeasure with the entire situation. 

Alliteration is a type of repetition that is concerned with the use and reuse of words that begin with the same consonant sound. For example, “sun” and “shine” in the first line of the book and “fun” and “fish” throughout the rest of the book. He also uses repetition more generally when he repeats entire phrases. For example, when the cat says, “Look at me” while balancing on the ball. 

Detailed Analysis

Pages 1-10

In the first ten pages of ‘The Cat in the Hat,’ the cat barges into a home belonging to two children. These two kids, who began the story complaining about the weather, are shocked to see him. But, in the land of Dr. Seuss, they do not question his presence. He’s a large cat wearing a hat, and besides his surprise entrance, nothing is unusual to them. 

The cat is an upbeat, fantastical character who is determined to improve the day for Sally and her brother. Despite the fish’s pleading and complaining, they let the cat show off his balancing skills. He stands on a ball while holding various items to his hat, tail, and hands. The fish repetitively tells the cat that he doesn’t want to fall while Seuss uses more repetition to try to keep the young brother and sister’s attention on the cat. 

‘Look at me! 

Look at me! 

Look at me NOW! 

Pages eight through ten are a great example of accumulation. The cat continues to add more and more to his balancing act, creating tension as the reader becomes more certain that he’s going to fall at any moment. 

I can hold up the cup 

and the milk and the cake! 

I can hold up these books! 

and the fish on a rake! 

I can hold the toy ship 

and a little toy man! 

There are also examples of enjambment and cliffhangers throughout the poem/book. They appear between pages and between lines, especially as the cat’s antics become more outrageous. 

Pages 11-19

Between the tenth and eleventh pages of text, things change for the cat, he suddenly loses his balance and falls on his head. 

He came down with a bump

from up there on the ball.

and Sally and I,

we saw ALL the things fall!

The fish, who has protested all of this from the beginning, seems to have been proven right. He did end up falling, but safely and humorously landed in a teapot. Unfortunately for Sally and her brother, the house has become quite a mess. Their mother is going to be home soon, and it’s clear that they’re going to get in huge trouble. This is something that all young readers can relate to. But, unsurprisingly, the cat has a solution. He drags an enormous red box inside, and out of it pops Thing One and Thing Two. 

Then, out of the box 

came Thing Two and Thing One! 

And they ran to us fast. 

They said, ‘how do you do? 

Would you like to shake hands 

with Thing One and Thing Two?’

The kids shake hands with these two unusual creatures, and off they run to create more fun on the rainy day. The fish, of course, protests. 

Pages 20-31

As has been the case throughout the first pages of the book, the cat’s solutions to the rainy day blues are not exactly making things better. Thing One and Thing Two decide to fly kites inside, one of which has the mother’s dress attached to it. The other, as seen in the illustration, is attached to the teapot the fish is now sitting in. Suddenly, outside the window, the fish points out their mother’s leg. She’s on the way home. 

Then our fish said, ‘look! look!’ 

and our fish shook with fear. 

‘Your mother is on her way home! 

Do you hear? 

Oh, what will she do to us? 

What will she say? 

Oh, she will not like it 

to find us this way!’

Despite this not very good news, the rhymes keep the poem upbeat. The brother, who Seuss from for the first-person perspective, grabs his net and catches Thing One and Thing Two. They go back into the box, and the cat takes them away. He’s visibly disappointed as he leaves, and the children are left with a huge mess to clean up. 

But, the story isn’t over yet. The cat comes back with his cleaning machine and picks everything up. It’s a humorous, outrageous machine that could only belong in the world of Dr. Seuss. It has multiple arms and levers and takes care of everything. 

The book/poem ends with the speaker, the brother, asking the reader what “you” would tell “your mother” if she asked you what you’d done all day. This inclusion of the reader in the story at the end is a wonderful way to finish off the story. The young reader is in on the children’s secret while the parents have no idea what’s happened. 

Similar Poetry

Readers who enjoyed this book/poem should also consider looking into Dr. Seuss’ other works. Some of these include ‘Green Eggs and Ham,’ ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas,’ and ‘Fox in Socks’. There are many more, most of which can be found on our list of 10 of the Best Dr. Seuss Poems. Many of these poems/books are wonderful examples of humorous children’s literature that employees nonsense language and imagery. Writers such as Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear accomplished something similar in their poems. For example, ‘The Duck and the Kangaroo’ by Edward Lear and ‘Jabberwocky’ by Lewis Carroll.

The Cat in the Hat

Book cover
Author	Dr. Seuss
Illustrator	Dr. Seuss
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Children’s literature
Publisher	Random House, Houghton Mifflin
Publication date	March 12, 1957
Pages	61
ISBN	978-0-7172-6059-1
OCLC	304833
Preceded by	If I Ran the Circus
Followed by	How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (plot wise)

The Cat in the Hat is a 1957 children’s book written and illustrated by American author Theodor Geisel, using the pen name Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow tie. The Cat shows up at the house of Sally and her brother one rainy day when their mother is away. Despite the repeated objections of the children’s fish, the Cat shows the children a few of his tricks in an attempt to entertain them. In the process, he and his companions, Thing One and Thing Two, wreck the house. As the children and the fish become more alarmed, the Cat produces a machine that he uses to clean everything up and disappears just before the children’s mother comes home.

Geisel created the book in response to a debate in the United States about literacy in early childhood and the ineffectiveness of traditional primers such as those featuring Dick and Jane. Geisel was asked to write a more entertaining primer by William Spaulding, whom he had met during World War II and who was then director of the education division at Houghton Mifflin. However, because Geisel was already under contract with Random House, the two publishers agreed to a deal: Houghton Mifflin published the education edition, which was sold to schools, and Random House published the trade edition, which was sold in bookstores.

Geisel gave varying accounts of how he created The Cat in the Hat, but in the version he told most often, he was so frustrated with the word list from which he could choose words to write his story that he decided to scan the list and create a story based on the first two rhyming words he found. The words he found were cat and hat. The book was met with immediate critical and commercial success. Reviewers praised it as an exciting alternative to traditional primers. Three years after its debut, the book had already sold over a million copies, and in 2001, Publishers Weekly listed the book at number nine on its list of best-selling children’s books of all time. The book’s success led to the creation of Beginner Books, a publishing house centered on producing similar books for young children learning to read. In 1983, Geisel said, «It is the book I’m proudest of because it had something to do with the death of the Dick and Jane primers.»

Since its publication, The Cat in the Hat has become one of Dr. Seuss’ most famous books, with the Cat himself becoming his signature creation. The book was adapted into a 1971 animated television special and a 2003 live-action film, and the Cat has been included in many Dr. Seuss media.

Plot[edit]

The story begins as an unnamed boy who is the narrator of the book sits alone with his sister Sally in their house on a cold and rainy day, staring wistfully out the window. Then they hear a loud bump which is quickly followed by the arrival of the Cat in the Hat, a tall anthropomorphic cat in a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow tie, who proposes to entertain the children with some tricks that he knows. The children’s pet fish refuses, insisting that the Cat should leave. The Cat then responds by balancing the fish on the tip of his umbrella. The game quickly becomes increasingly trickier, as the Cat balances himself on a ball and tries to balance many household items on his limbs until he falls on his head, dropping everything he was holding. The fish admonishes him again, but the Cat in the Hat just proposes another game.

The Cat brings in a big red box from outside, from which he releases two identical characters, or «Things» as he refers them to, with blue hair and red suits called Thing One and Thing Two. The Things cause more trouble, such as flying kites in the house, knocking pictures off the wall and picking up the children’s mother’s new polka-dotted dress. All this comes to an end when the fish spots the children’s mother out the window. In response, the boy catches the Things in a net and the Cat, apparently ashamed, stores them back in the big red box. He takes it out the front door as the fish and the children survey the mess he has made. But the Cat soon returns, riding a machine that picks everything up and cleans the house, delighting the fish and the children. The Cat then leaves just before their mother arrives, and the fish and the children are back where they started at the beginning of the story. As she steps in, the mother asks the children what they did while she was out, but the children are hesitant and do not answer. The story ends with the question, «What would you do if your mother asked you?»

Background[edit]

Theodor Geisel, writing as Dr. Seuss, created The Cat in the Hat partly in response to the May 24, 1954, Life magazine article by John Hersey titled «Why Do Students Bog Down on First R? A Local Committee Sheds Light on a National Problem: Reading».^[1][2] In the article, Hersey was critical of school primers like those featuring Dick and Jane:

In the classroom boys and girls are confronted with books that have insipid illustrations depicting the slicked-up lives of other children… All feature abnormally courteous, unnaturally clean boys and girls…. In bookstores anyone can buy brighter, livelier books featuring strange and wonderful animals and children who behave naturally, i.e., sometimes misbehave… Given incentive from school boards, publishers could do as well with primers.^[3]

After detailing many issues contributing to the dilemma connected with student reading levels, Hersey asked toward the end of the article:

Why should [school primers] not have pictures that widen rather than narrow the associative richness the children give to the words they illustrate—drawings like those of the wonderfully imaginative geniuses among children’s illustrators, Tenniel, Howard Pyle, «Dr. Seuss», Walt Disney?^[4]

This article caught the attention of William Spaulding, who had met Geisel during the war and who was then the director of Houghton Mifflin’s education division.^[5] Spaulding had also read the best-selling 1955 book Why Johnny Can’t Read by Rudolf Flesch.^[6] Flesch, like Hersey, criticized primers as boring but also criticized them for teaching reading through word recognition rather than phonics.^[7] In 1955, Spaulding invited Geisel to dinner in Boston where he proposed that Geisel create a book «for six- and seven-year-olds who had already mastered the basic mechanics of reading».^[5] He reportedly challenged, «Write me a story that first-graders can’t put down!»^[5]

At the back of Why Johnny Can’t Read, Flesch had included 72 lists of words that young children should be able to read, and Spaulding provided Geisel with a similar list.^[7] Geisel later told biographers Judith and Neil Morgan that Spaulding had supplied him with a list of 348 words that every six-year-old should know and insisted that the book’s vocabulary be limited to 225 words.^[5] However, according to Philip Nel, Geisel gave varying numbers in interviews from 1964 to 1969.^[8] He variously claimed that he could use between 200 and 250 words from a list of between 300 and 400; the finished book contains 236 different words.^[8]

Creation[edit]

Geisel gave varying accounts of how he conceived of The Cat in the Hat. According to the story Geisel told most often, he was so frustrated with the word list that William Spaulding had given him that he finally decided to scan the list and create a story out of the first two words he found that rhymed. The words he found were cat and hat.^[8]
Near the end of his life, Geisel told his biographers, Judith and Neil Morgan, that he conceived the beginnings of the story while he was with Spaulding, in an elevator in the Houghton Mifflin offices in Boston.^[9] It was an old, shuddering elevator and was operated by a «small, stooped woman wearing ‘a leather half-glove and a secret smile'».^[9] Anita Silvey, recounting a similar story, described the woman as «a very elegant, very petite African-American woman named Annie Williams».^[10] Geisel told Silvey that, when he sketched the Cat in the Hat, he thought of Williams and gave the character Williams’ white gloves and «sly, even foxy smile».^[10]

Geisel gave two conflicting, partly fictionalized accounts of the book’s creation in two articles, «How Orlo Got His Book» in The New York Times Book Review and «My Hassle with the First Grade Language» in the Chicago Tribune, both published on November 17, 1957.^[8] In «My Hassle with the First Grade Language», he wrote about his proposal to a «distinguished schoolbook publisher» to write a book for young children about «scaling the peaks of Everest at 60 degrees below».^[11] The publisher was intrigued but informed him that, because of the word list, «you can’t use the word scaling. You can’t use the word peaks. You can’t use Everest. You can’t use 60. You can’t use degrees. You can’t…»^[11] Geisel gave a similar account to Robert Cahn for an article in the July 6, 1957, edition of The Saturday Evening Post.^[8] In «My Hassle With the First Grade Language», he also told a story of the «three excruciatingly painful weeks» in which he worked on a story about a King Cat and a Queen Cat.^[12] However, «queen» was not on the word list, nor did his first grade nephew, Norval, recognize it. So Geisel returned to the work, but could then think only of words that started with the letter «q», which did not appear in any word on the list. He then had a similar fascination with the letter «z», which also did not appear in any word on the list. When he did finally finish the book and showed it to his nephew, Norval had already graduated from the first grade and was learning calculus. Philip Nel notes, in his dissection of the article, that Norval was Geisel’s invention. Geisel’s niece, Peggy Owens, did have a son, but he was only a one-year-old when the article was published.^[13]

In «How Orlo Got His Book», he described Orlo, a fictional, archetypal young child who was turned off of reading by the poor selection of simple reading material.^[14] To save Orlo the frustration, Geisel decided to write a book for children like Orlo but found the task «not dissimilar to… being lost with a witch in a tunnel of love».^[14] He tried to write a story called «The Queen Zebra» but found that both words did not appear on the list. In fact, like Geisel wrote in «My Hassle with the First Grade Language», the letters «q» and «z» did not appear on the list at all. He then tried to write a story about a bird, without using the word bird as it did not appear on the list. He decided to call it a «wing thing» instead, but struggled as he discovered that it «couldn’t have legs or a beak or a tail. Neither a left foot or a right foot.»^[15] On his approach to writing The Cat in the Hat he wrote, «The method I used is the same method you use when you sit down to make apple stroodle [sic] without stroodles.»^[15]

Geisel variously stated that the book took between nine and 18 months to create.^[16] Donald Pease notes that he worked on it primarily alone, unlike with previous books, which had been more collaborative efforts between Geisel and his wife, Helen.^[17] This marked a general trend in his work and life. As Robert L. Bernstein later said of that period, «The more I saw of him, the more he liked being in that room and creating all by himself.»^[18] Pease points to Helen’s recovery from Guillain–Barré syndrome, which she was diagnosed with in 1954, as the marker for this change.^[18]

Publication history[edit]

Geisel agreed to write The Cat in the Hat at the request of William Spaulding of Houghton Mifflin; however, because Geisel was under contract with Random House, the head of Random House, Bennett Cerf, made a deal with Houghton Mifflin. Random House retained the rights to trade sales, which encompassed copies of the book sold at book stores, while Houghton Mifflin retained the education rights, which encompassed copies sold to schools.^[5]

The Houghton Mifflin edition was released in January or February 1957, and the Random House edition was released on March 1.^[19] The two editions featured different covers but were otherwise identical.^[19] The first edition can be identified by the «200/200» mark in the top right corner of the front dust jacket flap, signifying the $2.00 selling price. The price was reduced to $1.95 on later editions.^[20]

According to Judith and Neil Morgan, the book sold well immediately. The trade edition initially sold an average of 12,000 copies a month, a figure which rose rapidly.^[21] Bullock’s department store in Los Angeles, California, sold out of its first, 100-copy order of the book in a day and quickly reordered 250 more.^[21] The Morgans attribute these sales numbers to «playground word-of-mouth», asserting that children heard about the book from their friends and nagged their parents to buy it for them.^[21] However, Houghton Mifflin’s school edition did not sell as well. As Geisel noted in Jonathan Cott’s 1983 profile of him, «Houghton Mifflin… had trouble selling it to the schools; there were a lot of Dick and Jane devotees, and my book was considered too fresh and irreverent. But Bennett Cerf at Random House had asked for trade rights, and it just took off in the bookstores.»^[22] Geisel told the Morgans, «Parents understood better than school people the necessity for this kind of reader.»^[21]

After three years in print, The Cat in the Hat had sold nearly one million copies. By then, the book had been translated into French, Chinese, Swedish, and Braille.^[21] In 2001, Publishers Weekly placed it at number nine on its list of the best-selling children’s books of all time.^[23] As of 2007, more than 10 million copies of The Cat in the Hat have been printed, and it has been translated into more than 12 different languages, including Latin, under the title Cattus Petasatus.^[24][25] In 2007, on the occasion of the book’s fiftieth anniversary, Random House released The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats, which includes both The Cat in the Hat and its sequel, with annotations and an introduction by Philip Nel.^[19]

Reception[edit]

The book was published to immediate critical acclaim. Some reviewers praised the book as an exciting way to learn to read, particularly compared to the primers that it supplanted. Ellen Lewis Buell, in her review for The New York Times Book Review, noted the book’s heavy use of one-syllable words and lively illustrations.^[26] She wrote, «Beginning readers and parents who have been helping them through the dreary activities of Dick and Jane and other primer characters are due for a happy surprise.»^[27] Helen Adams Masten of the Saturday Review called the book Geisel’s tour de force and wrote, «Parents and teachers will bless Mr. Geisel for this amusing reader with its ridiculous and lively drawings, for their children are going to have the exciting experience of learning that they can read after all.»^[28] Polly Goodwin of the Chicago Sunday Tribune predicted that The Cat in the Hat would cause seven- and eight-year-olds to «look with distinct distaste on the drab adventures of standard primer characters».^[29]

Both Helen E. Walker of Library Journal and Emily Maxwell of The New Yorker felt that the book would appeal to older children as well as to its target audience of first- and second-graders.^[30] The reviewer for The Bookmark concurred, writing, «Recommended enthusiastically as a picture book as well as a reader».^[31] In contrast, Heloise P. Mailloux wrote in The Horn Book Magazine, «This is a fine book for remedial purposes, but self-conscious children often refuse material if it seems meant for younger children.»^[32] She felt that the book’s limited vocabulary kept it from reaching «the absurd excellence of early Seuss books».^[32]

Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed The Cat in the Hat as one of its «Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children».^[33] In 2012, it was ranked number 36 among the «Top 100 Picture Books» in a survey published by School Library Journal – the third of five Dr. Seuss books on the list.^[34] It was awarded the Early Readers BILBY Award in 2004 and 2012.^[35]

The book’s fiftieth anniversary in 2007 prompted a reevaluation of the book from some critics. Yvonne Coppard, reviewing the fiftieth anniversary edition in Carousel magazine, wondered if the popularity of the Cat and his «delicious naughty behavior» will endure another fifty years. Coppard wrote, «The innocent ignorance of bygone days has given way to an all-embracing, almost paranoid awareness of child protection issues. And here we have the mysterious stranger who comes in, uninvited, while your mother is out.»^[36]

Analysis[edit]

Philip Nel places the book’s title character in the tradition of con artists in American art, including the title characters from Meredith Willson’s The Music Man and L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.^[37] Nel also contends that Geisel identified with the Cat, pointing to a self portrait of Geisel in which he appears as the Cat, which was published alongside a profile about him in The Saturday Evening Post on July 6, 1957.^[37] Michael K. Frith, who worked as Geisel’s editor, concurs, arguing that «The Cat in the Hat and Ted Geisel were inseparable and the same. I think there’s no question about it. This is someone who delighted in the chaos of life, who delighted in the seeming insanity of the world around him.»^[37] Ruth MacDonald asserts that the Cat’s primary goal in the book is to create fun for the children. The Cat calls it «fun that is funny», which MacDonald distinguishes from the ordinary, serious fun that parents subject their children to.^[38] In an article titled «Was the Cat in the Hat Black?», Philip Nel draws connections between the Cat and stereotyped depictions of African-Americans, including minstrel shows, Geisel’s own minstrel-inspired cartoons from early in his career, and the use of the term «cat» to refer to jazz musicians.^[39][40] According to Nel, «Even as [Geisel] wrote books designed to challenge prejudice, he never fully shed the cultural assumptions he grew up with, and was likely unaware of the ways in which his visual imagination replicated the racial ideologies he consciously sought to reject.»^[39]

Geisel once called the fish «my version of Cotton Mather», the Puritan moralist who advised the prosecutors during the Salem witch trials.^[41] Betty Mensch and Alan Freeman support this view, writing, «Drawing on old Christian symbolism (the fish was an ancient sign of Christianity) Dr. Seuss portrays the fish as a kind of ever-nagging superego, the embodiment of utterly conventionalized morality.»^[41] Philip Nel notes that other critics have also compared the fish to the superego. Anna Quindlen called the Cat «pure id» and marked the children, as mediators between the Cat and the fish, as the ego.^[41] Mensch and Freeman, however, argue that the Cat shows elements of both id and ego.^[41]

In her analysis of the fish, MacDonald asserts that it represents the voice of the children’s absent mother.^[42] Its conflict with the Cat, not only over the Cat’s uninvited presence but also their inherent predator-prey relationship, provides the tension of the story. She points out that on the last page, while the children are hesitant to tell their mother about what happened in her absence, the fish gives a knowing look to the readers to assure them «that something did go on but that silence is the better part of valor in this case».^[42] Alison Lurie agrees, writing, «there is a strong suggestion that they might not tell her.»^[43] She argues that, in the Cat’s destruction of the house, «the kids—and not only those in the story, but those who read it—have vicariously given full rein to their destructive impulses without guilt or consequences.»^[43] For a 1983 article, Geisel told Jonathan Cott, «The Cat in the Hat is a revolt against authority, but it’s ameliorated by the fact that the Cat cleans up everything at the end. It’s revolutionary in that it goes as far as Kerensky and then stops. It doesn’t go quite as far as Lenin.»^[44]

Donald Pease notes that The Cat in the Hat shares some structural similarities with other Dr. Seuss books. Like earlier books, The Cat in the Hat starts with «a child’s feeling of discontent with his mundane circumstances» which is soon enhanced by make-believe.^[45] The book starts in a factual, realistic world, which crosses over into the world of make-believe with the loud bump that heralds the arrival of the Cat.^[45] However, this is the first Dr. Seuss book in which the fantasy characters, i.e. the Cat and his companions, are not products of the children’s imagination.^[45] It also differs from previous books in that Sally and her brother actively participate in the fantasy world; they also have a new opinion of the Cat and his world by the story’s end.^[45]

Legacy[edit]

Ruth MacDonald asserts, «The Cat in the Hat is the book that made Dr. Seuss famous. Without The Cat, Seuss would have remained a minor light in the history of children’s literature.»^[46] Donald Pease concurs, writing, «The Cat in the Hat is the classic in the archive of Dr. Seuss stories for which it serves as a cornerstone and a linchpin. Before writing it Geisel was better known for the ‘Quick, Henry, the Flit!’ ad campaign than for his nine children’s books.»^[47] The publication and popularity of the book thrust Geisel into the center of the United States literacy debate, what Pease called «the most important academic controversy» of the Cold War era.^[47] Academic Louis Menand contends that «The Cat in the Hat transformed the nature of primary education and the nature of children’s books. It not only stood for the idea that reading ought to be taught by phonics; it also stood for the idea that language skills—and many other subjects—ought to be taught through illustrated storybooks, rather than primers and textbooks.»^[48] In 1983, Geisel told Jonathan Cott, «It is the book I’m proudest of because it had something to do with the death of the Dick and Jane primers.»^[22]

The book led directly to the creation of Beginner Books, a publishing house centered on producing books like The Cat in the Hat for beginning readers.^[21] According to Judith and Neil Morgan, when the book caught the attention of Phyllis Cerf, the wife of Geisel’s publisher, Bennett Cerf, she arranged for a meeting with Geisel, where the two agreed to create Beginner Books.^[21] Geisel became the president and editor, and the Cat in the Hat served as their mascot. Geisel’s wife, Helen, was made third partner. Random House served as distributor^[21] until 1960, when Random House purchased Beginner Books.^[49] Geisel wrote multiple books for the series, including The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (1958), Green Eggs and Ham (1960), Hop on Pop (1963), and Fox in Socks (1965).^[50] He initially used word lists of limited vocabularies to create these books, as he had with The Cat in the Hat, but moved away from the lists as he came to believe «that a child could learn any amount of words if fed them slowly and if the books were amply illustrated».^[51] Other authors also contributed notable books to the series, including A Fly Went By (1958), Sam and the Firefly (1958), Go, Dog. Go! (1961), and The Big Honey Hunt (1962).^[50]

The book, or elements of it, has been mentioned multiple times in United States politics. The image of the Cat balancing many objects on his body while in turn balancing himself on a ball has been included in political cartoons and articles. Political caricaturists have portrayed both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in this way.^[52] In 2004, MAD magazine published «The Strange Similarities Between the Bush Administration and the World of Dr. Seuss», an article which matched quotes from White House officials to excerpts taken from Dr. Seuss books, and in which George W. Bush’s State of the Union promises were contrasted with the Cat vowing (in part), «I can hold up the cup and the milk and the cake! I can hold up these books! And the fish on a rake!»^[53] In 2007, during the 110th Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid compared the impasse over a bill to reform immigration with the mess created by the Cat. He read lines of the book from the Senate floor.^[54] He then carried forward his analogy hoping the impasse would be straightened out for «If you go back and read Dr. Seuss, the cat manages to clean up the mess.»^[55] In 1999, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp featuring the Cat in the Hat.^[56]

The Cat in the Hat‘s popularity also led to increased popularity and exposure for Geisel’s previous children’s books. For example, 1940’s Horton Hatches the Egg had sold 5,801 copies in its opening year and 1,645 the following year. In 1958, the year after the publication of The Cat in the Hat, 27,643 copies of Horton were sold, and by 1960 the book had sold a total of over 200,000 copies.^[47]

In 2020, The Cat in the Hat placed second on the New York Public Library’s list of «Top 10 Checkouts of All Time».^[57][58]

Adaptations[edit]

The Cat in the Hat has been adapted for various media, including theater, television, and film.

Animated TV special[edit]

The Cat in the Hat is an animated musical TV special which premiered in 1971 and starred Allan Sherman as the Cat. In 1973, Sherman reprised the role for Dr. Seuss on the Loose, where the Cat host three stories, and it was his last project before his death that same year.

Television[edit]

The Cat is the host of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, an American puppet series that premiered on October 13, 1996 and ended on December 28, 1998. His chaotic and messy personae from the original Cat in the Hat book has been noticeably toned down, portraying him as more of an omniscient trickster narrating, and helping other characters in, stories from around Seussville. The character was performed by Bruce Lanoil in the show’s first season, with Martin P. Robinson taking over in season 2. Instead of Thing One and Thing Two from the original story, the Cat is usually seen in the company of Little Cats A, B and C from Comes Back.

The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! is a British-Canadian-American animated television series that premiered on August 7, 2010, and ended on October 14, 2018. It was based on the book series «The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library» which reveals the name of the boy who narrated the original book to be Dick.^[59] It starred Martin Short as the voice of the Cat. The Cat in this series is portrayed as a genuinely wise, but still adventurous, guide to Sally and Nick (who replaced Sally’s brother Dick).

Live-action film[edit]

In 2003, The Cat in the Hat, a live-action film adaptation, was released, starring Mike Myers as the Cat. The film grossed $133,960,541 worldwide on an estimated $109 million budget.^[60] It was poorly received by critics, and a planned sequel was subsequently cancelled. Due to the film’s failure, Audrey Geisel, Seuss’ widow, decided not to allow any further live-action adaptations of her husband’s work.

Proposed animated film[edit]

In 2012, following the financial success of The Lorax, an animated film adaptation of The Lorax, Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment announced plans to produce a CGI adaptation of The Cat in the Hat.^[61] Rob Lieber was set to write the script, with Chris Meledandri as producer, and Audrey Geisel as the executive producer, but the project never came to fruition.^[62]

In January 2018, Warner Animation Group picked up the rights for the animated Cat in the Hat film as part of a creative partnership with Seuss Enterprises.^[63]

Soviet cartoon[edit]

In 1984, the book was adapted in Russian as a nine-minute cartoon called Кот в колпаке (The Cat in the Cap). The short omits Thing One and Thing Two, along with changing the Cat’s hat into a cap; initially an umbrella when it comes in from the rainy street, and making a number of additional transformations throughout the story. Sally’s name is not mentioned, neither is her brother Conrad.

PC[edit]

In 1997, the book was made into a Living Books adaption for the PC.^[64]

Stage play[edit]

In 2009, the Royal National Theatre created a stage version of the book, adapted and directed by Katie Mitchell.^[65] It has since toured the UK and been revived.

Character and themes[edit]

Seussical, a musical adaptation that incorporates aspects of many Dr. Seuss works, features the Cat in the Hat as narrator.^[66] The musical received weak reviews when it opened in November 2001 but eventually became a staple in regional and school theaters.^[66]

A ride at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure park in Orlando, Florida, has a Cat in the Hat theme.^[67]

On July 26, 2016, Random House and Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced that the Cat in the Hat was running for US president.^{[68][69][70][71]}

Parodies[edit]

The Johnny Test episode «Sleepover at Johnny’s» parodies the book itself. References and parodies included the talking, rhyming fish (which Susan and Mary created), Bling 1 and Bling 2 (obvious rhyming parodies of Thing One and Thing Two), a scene where Bling 1 and Bling 2 fly kites in the living room, and the 12-Handed Cleaner-Upper Flupper-Wupper (a parody of the cleaning machine). Johnny and Dukey thought it all seemed familiar, but forgot the title, although Johnny remarked, «Maybe I saw this in a book».^[72]

See also[edit]

• Dr. Seuss Memorial
• Grinch
• Horton the Elephant

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Cott, Jonathan (1983). «The Good Dr. Seuss». In Fensch, Thomas (ed.). Of Sneetches and Whos and the Good Dr. Seuss: Essays on the Writings and Life of Theodor Geisel. McFarland & Company. pp. 99–123. ISBN 0-7864-0388-8.
• Fensch, Thomas (2001). The Man Who Was Dr. Seuss. Woodlands: New Century Books. ISBN 0-930751-11-6.
• Fensch, Thomas, ed. (April 14, 1986). «‘Somebody’s Got to Win’ in Kids’ Books: An Interview with Dr. Seuss on His Books for Children, Young and Old». Of Sneetches and Whos and the Good Dr. Seuss: Essays on the Writings and Life of Theodor Geisel. McFarland & Company. pp. 125–127. ISBN 0-7864-0388-8.
• Hersey, John (24 May 1954). «Why Do Students Bog Down on First R?». Life. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
• Lurie, Alison (1992). The Cabinet of Dr. Seuss. Popular Culture: An Introductory Text. ISBN 978-0-87972-572-3.
• MacDonald, Ruth (1988). Dr. Seuss. Twayne Publishers. ISBN 0-8057-7524-2.
• Menand, Louis (16 December 2002). «Cat People: What Dr. Seuss Really Taught Us». The New Yorker. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
• Morgan, Judith; Neil Morgan (1995). Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel. Random House. ISBN 0-679-41686-2.
• Nel, Philip (2007). The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss And His Cats. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-83369-4.
• Nel, Philip (2004). Dr. Seuss: American Icon. Continuum Publishing. ISBN 0-8264-1434-6.
• Pease, Donald E. (2010). Theodor Seuss Geisel. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-532302-3.
• Seuss, Dr. (17 November 1957). «How Orlo Got His Book». In Nel, Philip (ed.). The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss And His Cats. Random House. pp. 167–169. ISBN 978-0-375-83369-4.
• Seuss, Dr. (17 November 1957). «My Hassle With the First Grade Language». In Nel, Philip (ed.). The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss And His Cats. Random House. pp. 170–173. ISBN 978-0-375-83369-4.

August 10, 2022 5:00 AM EST

Are you looking for nice Cat in the Hat quotes to teach the youth of today?

Read on to know more!

Many children’s books published in the classic days are still relevant and timely even now.

Take for example the mighty work of American author Theodor Geisel, who wrote the award-winning book The Cat in the Hat under the pen name Dr. Seuss.

The story circled around the life of a cat who wore a red and white hat who went to a house to amaze the children while their parents are away.

While he does tricks for entertainment, it came to a point where the house is about to be wrecked.

Thankfully he was able to make a machine that would fix the mess he made just before the children’s parents got home.

Here are the top 30 Cat in the Hat quotes that many can still recall.

Don’t forget to also check out these Ratatouille quotes that prove anyone can be great.

If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement. 

Read more related content on our inspirational quotes category page.

Best Cat in the Hat Quotes and Sayings

1. “Now! Now! Have no fear. Have no fear! said the cat.” – Cat in the Hat

2. “My tricks are not bad, said the cat in the hat.” – Cat in the Hat

3. “But that is not all. Oh no. That is not all!” – Cat in the Hat

4. “Oh dear! said the cat. You do not like our game…Oh, dear. what a shame! What a shame! What a shame!” – Cat in the Hat

5. “He should not be here, said the fish in the pot. He should not be here when your mother is not.” – Cat in the Hat

6. “I will NOT go away. I do NOT wish to go!” – Cat in the Hat

7. “It’s fun to have fun. But you have to know how.” – Cat in the Hat

Favorite Cat in the Hat Quotes and lines

8. “A lot of good tricks. I will show them to you. Your mother will not mind at all if I do.” – Cat in the Hat

9. “You will like these two things, said the cat with a bow.” – Cat in the Hat

10. “But I like it here. Oh, I like it a lot!” – Cat in the Hat

11. “I got some good games we could play, said the cat. I know some good tricks, said the cat in the hat.” – Cat in the Hat

12. “Cat, you ruined mom’s dress!” – Cat in the Hat

13. “It was ruined when she bought it.” – Cat in the Hat

14. “Well, sure, he can talk, but is he saying anything? No, not really.” – Cat in the Hat

15. “You pay this woman to sit on babies? That’s disgusting. I’d do it for nothing.” – Cat in the Hat

16. “Listen, Condax…. you probably don’t wanna do that.” – Cat in the Hat

17. “That’d be me. BOO!” – Cat in the Hat

18. “Delicious cupcakes are just minutes away.” – Cat in the Hat

Popular Cat in the Hat Quotes and words

19. “I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny, but we can have lots of good fun that is funny.” – Cat in the Hat

20. “The sun did not shine. “It was too wet to play.” – Cat in the Hat

21. “So all we could do it sit! sit! sit! sit! and we did not like it. Not one little bit.” – Cat in the Hat

22. “Then Sally and I did not know what to say. Our mother was out of the house for the day.” – Cat in the Hat

23. “And then something went BUMP! How that Bump made us Jump!” – Cat in the Hat

24. “Look at me! Look at me! Look at me NOW! It is fun to have fun.” – Cat in the Hat

25. “And this mess is so big. And so deep and so tall. We cannot pick it up. There is no way at all!” – Cat in the Hat

Which of these Cat in the Hat quotes is your favorite?

Indeed, Dr. Seuss’ creativity in weaving the words in the story has amazed many kids worldwide and helped them appreciate reading more.

For decades, the Cat in the Hat book has made reading among kids entertaining and fun while cultivating their comprehension and imagination.

It also became an award-winning children’s book which sold millions of copies worldwide.

Eventually, fans of the book were able to see an animated TV special in 1971 and a live-action film adaptation in 2003.

The Cat in the Hat book definitely helped many kids in the classic generation to understand more.

All these Cat in the Hat quotes and lines will surely be a favorite among kids in this generation.