Cat in the Hat

My son is reading the book to me right now so
I thought I'd share some history & fun quotes with you.

I can't help it, I'm a teacher at heart...

What inspired Dr. Seuss’s beloved classic that forever changed children’s books? More than 50 years ago, Life magazine published a provocative article by Pulitzer Prize winner John Hersey, entitled “Why Do Students Bog Down on the First R?” The article reasoned that children had poor literacy skills because children’s books were simply boring. Hersey was outraged with the primers of the day, calling them “antiseptic” and the children in them “unnaturally clean.” He called for illustrations “that widen rather than narrow the associative richness the children give to the words,” and concluded that the work of artists like Ted Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, and Walt Disney would be more appropriate.
Rudolf Flesch’s book Why Johnny Can't Read—and What You Can Do About It (1957) also cited the Dick and Jane primers as a major reason for why children in the United States were not learning to read. Challenged to create a primer with true kid appeal and armed with word lists for beginning readers, Dr. Seuss’s innovative genius prevailed and The Cat in the Hat was born. Published on March 1, 1957, and priced at $2.00, Random House’s edition of The Cat in the Hat was an immediate hit and the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. (Houghton Mifflin published the edition marketed to schools; Random House published the edition for the general public.) In her March 17 review in the the New York Times Book Review, Ellen Lewis Buell 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.” The Cat in the Hat, she noted, is “one of the most original and funniest of books for early readers.”

Now, 50 years later, with millions and millions of copies sold worldwide, The Cat in the Hat has become an international force in helping kids develop a lifelong love of reading.

Relevant Quotes from Dr. Seuss books:

"I know up on top you are seeing great sights, but down on the bottom we, too, should have rights!"

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!"

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

"So you see! There's no end to the things you might know, depending how far beyond Zebra you go"

"Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you."

"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way."

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one."

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