The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat descends upon two children one rainy day in this classic early reader from Dr. Seuss, setting off a madcap, messy adventure in their home. Despite the narrator and his sister Sally not being particularly keen to host this feline guest, the Cat barges in, determined to share his games with them. The children's fish offers a continual string of objections, but the Cat carries on, even going so far as to set loose his twin terrors - Thing One and Thing Two - who destroy the house. When the Cat finally leaves, and the children's mother is spotted approaching, it looks like there will be trouble, but that irrepressible feline has one last trick up his sleeve...

Originally published in 1957, The Cat in the Hat was Dr. show more Seuss's thirteenth children's book, and the first of his early readers. It works just as well as a read-aloud picture-book for younger children, but is intended for use with beginning readers, and is part of Random House's I Can Read It All By Myself Beginner Books collection, which includes all of the Dr. Seuss and Dr. Seuss-labeled early readers, amongst other titles. This is a book I recall reading many times as a girl, and its text and illustrations are immediately familiar, whenever I pick it up. This particular reread was prompted by my recently begun retrospective of Dr. Seuss's work, in which I will be reading and reviewing forty-four of his classic picture-books, in chronological publication order. This is a project I undertook as an act of personal protest against the suppression of six of the author/artist's titles - And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, McElligot's Pool, If I Ran the Zoo, Scrambled Eggs Super!, On Beyond Zebra! and The Cat's Quizzer - by Dr. Seuss Enterprises, due to the outdated and potentially offensive elements that they contain. See my review of And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, to be found HERE, for a fuller exploration of my thoughts on that matter.

Although The Cat in the Hat is not currently one of the books being suppressed through the copyright holder's recent decision to cease publication, readers should note that it may only be a matter of time until it has joined that unfortunate list. Sadly, the censorious impulse - including, and perhaps especially, the self-censorious impulse, of which this recent decision is an example - only gains strength as it is fed, and this particular book has already run afoul of those same critics whose work seems to have informed Dr. Seuss Enterprises' recent action against the artistic and literary legacy that they are meant to be representing. Apparently the argument has been put forward, in such academic titles as Philip Nel's Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books, that the titular Cat in this story is a descendant of the minstrel shows and blackface of earlier generations, and that his actions are a coded reflection of white fears about the disruptive nature of black power. I cannot comment upon Nel's argument, having not yet read the book - something I hope to do in the future - but some of the reviews of it that I have seen, reviews that mention all of the "decoding" done by the critic, in order to arrive at his conclusion, do make me wonder whether the text actually supports that conclusion, or whether the entire argument rests upon the imposition of the critic's own preexisting assumptions upon the text. I hope, at some point, to have an answer to that question, as well as a better understanding of the role of critics like Nel in this recent decision from Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Whatever the final argument put forward in his book, it is not my intention to assert that he can be held directly accountable for this act of censoriousness, simply by virtue of his having made a critique of Dr. Seuss' work. There is a difference, after all, between critique - even harsh critique - and calling for censorship. Of course, if Nel's book does indeed make an argument for suppressing books such as The Cat in the Hat, or if Nel was one of the panel of "experts" Dr. Seuss Enterprises is said to have consulted, then that is a different matter, and some of the blame for this recent episode of cultural vandalism can indeed be laid at his feet.

However that may be, in light of the criticisms leveled against this book, I gave careful attention to the depiction of the Cat during my current reread, curious to see if I would spy some of the problematic aspects, whatever they might be. I cannot deny that there is an element of unease in this story, and that the Cat's role is indeed disruptive. This is something that I recall being conscious of, even as a child reader. Of course, my sense then was more that the Cat was being "naughty," and that the story represented the mischief children get up to, absent parental authority. After all, the narrator and his sister are home alone, very bored, with nowhere to go. Rereading as an adult, having only recently read or reread all of Dr. Seuss' prior children's books, I came to a similar but somewhat expanded conclusion. Namely, that this is a story which offers an interesting and slightly different take on the power of imaginative play, depicted in previous books as wondrous and somehow transformative, even if only temporarily. Here however, we see the potentially destructive, perhaps even dangerous potential of imagination, and the chaos attendant upon following one's impulses. It clearly isn't an accident that the Cat in the Hat arrives when the children's mother is out. He appears to represent a force that is oppositional to familial authority, whose spokesperson in the the story would be the lecturing fish, always reminding the children of what their mother might say or think. It's interesting to note that the chaos and destruction ushered in by the Cat is temporary, and that all is set to rights again, at the close of the book. This suggests nothing so much as the kind of experiments in independence that young people conduct, inching out a bit from the family circle, and then retreating again to its safety. I couldn't say whether this was intentional upon Dr. Seuss's part, but the fact that the book is deliberately aimed at a slightly older child than some of the earlier picture-books, a slightly older child just getting going with their own independent reading, it's tempting to think that the creator is offering them a story about wholly independent play.

Whatever interpretation the reader lands upon, when it comes to the meaning of the story and its creator's intentions, the experience of generations of children confirm that this is an immensely entertaining book. I can only hope that it will not be disappeared by our current climate of censoriousness, and that coming generations will also be able to enjoy its odd, disquieting charm. show less

The thing is just how unlikeable the cat is--desperate to be the life of the party, living all over you, deaf in one ear at convenient moments, bloodshot eyes and too-loud jokes, fixin to put acid in the punchbowl and set fire to the yard and go "hey maaaan, why you being such a buzzkill?" And when the cops show up he's just "I can't handle this scene, man" and goes all to pieces and you have to deal with it. And he shatters like glass if you say a single unkind word. And if the kids had taken their eyes off his thugs, I mean things, for a moment you know their mother would have come home and found them both killed and eaten.

But then on the other hand there's the fish, who's just a prick and a half. And then you think about the affinity show more the hippies always had for this story and how it was written in 1957 and then it stares you in the face like the nexus of the culture wars--like, the place where the perennial folktale thread of fear that some prancy fuck with subversive morals and filthy drawers will steal our children that goes back to the Pied Piper (and what the hell, Jesus) splits open and becomes full-on sixties/seventies "she's leaving home"/"don't tell mama, don't tell pa"/"let all the children boogie" children-of-the-psychedelic-corn stuff. And you think holy crap, the hippies must have been infuriating, but the only thing worse than a longhair is still the kind of guy who wants to beat a longhair's ass for being a sissy and listen to some goddamn Gene Pitney.

And Dr. Seuss kicked off the game by stealing their children when they were still in diapers. I admire that, but I am also glad in some ways to not have had to negotiate all that mess. Harshes my mellow just thinking about it. show less

I have great affection for this book, since it was the first that I ever learned to read. Actually, to be more accurate, I had the book memorized before I could actually read; and I would page through it, reciting the prose on each appropriate page. I have no doubt that the book stimulated my wish to read and helped me along in the process. Simple words, rhymes, a clever story, and wonderful cartoons -- a perfect first book for the tot, and one I will always venerate.

Perfectly captures that mix of excitement and anxiety when things start getting a little too wild at home! Dr. Seuss absolutely nails the mischievous energy that builds when children are stuck inside, and my kids just can't get enough of the Cat's outrageous balancing acts and Thing One and Thing Two's shenanigans - though I'll admit I relate more to that poor worried fish these days! While part of me cringes at the mess the Cat creates (because guess who'd be cleaning that up in real life!), I love how the story teaches responsibility when everything gets cleaned up before Mom comes home, and my kids actually use this as inspiration to tidy their rooms now. The bouncy rhymes make this so much fun to read aloud at bedtime, though my show more little ones have memorized every word and love to chime in - especially the "should we tell her about it?" part at the end, which always leads to giggles and conversations about honesty. show less

The Cat in the Hat is a playful story, but it also shows how kids deal with rules, responsibility, and temptation. A main theme is the struggle between fun and self-control. The Cat brings chaos into the house, and the kids have to decide whether to join in or worry about the consequences. They don’t change in a deep way, but they do become more aware of what can happen when things get out of hand.
Dr. Seuss uses rhyme, repetition, and silly language to make the story exciting and easy to follow. The Cat acts almost like a symbol of wild curiosity, while the fish represents caution.
The illustrations are bright and exaggerated, helping the reader feel the growing mess and energy in the house. The pictures also add humor and make the show more chaos clearer. Even though the story is simple, the mix of fast-paced words and bold drawings gives it a lot of life and teaches a gentle lesson about choices. show less

The first time I read this, I was starting to learn English at about 10 years old. I was (and still is) the goody-two-shoe variety. I remember freaking out that this (seemingly) pompous and callous cat would barge in uninvited and make a mess of everything. Even though he cleans up afterwards, I would have had a minor heart attack. Coincidentally, I was a latch-key kid so sitting home waiting for mom to return is a daily theme. Imagine my 10-year old self’s irrational fear of a rampaging cat barging into my home.

Reading this for a second time as an adult with a more open mind, I see the underlying messages better:

- Don’t mope around; have a little fun. (In my case, it’s more of ‘don’t be so hard on myself’.)

- It’s ok to show more make a little mess; it can be cleaned up. (Though it was an old friend who taught me the adage of “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.” It was an awakening to let things go.)

- The question of “What would YOU do if your mother asked YOU?”. I never thought much of this. I never told my mom much of anything having raised myself due to circumstances. But as I age, I understand the tradeoff and frustration that a normal child would have had in these situations. I think Dr. Seuss is saying it’s ok to tell or not to tell.

- I don’t know what the fish was supposed to represent, but the fish would have been my inner voice, my conscience, telling me to keep things in check. Perhaps it’s about having fun but know you have an inner voice to maintain your core.

Despite this book being in the “I can read it all by myself” category, it is still better read with a parent. show less

"Look at me!
Look at me!
Look at me NOW!
It is fun to have fun
But you have to know how."

The Cat in the Hat is the trickster deity of the Seussian pantheon, extended to a trinity by "good Things." He can break the rules and magically fix the damage and it was all acted out joyously and sin-lessly, as if in a dream.