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Common Sense Note

Readers will side with the fun-crazed Cat and his sidekicks, not the guilt-tripping goldfish. The pictures capture the Cat's exuberant spirit and match the rapid-fire rhyming text.

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Robyn Raymer

In response to a pivotal Life magazine article titled "Why Johnny Can't Read," children's author Theodor S. Geisel spent over a year shuffling what must have seemed like a meager assortment of words, polishing and polishing, until he produced THE CAT IN THE HAT. And when the Cat strode into primary classrooms, boring old Puff and Spot slunk out forever.

The Cat is almost amoral: He traipses into the house, juggles possessions, and invites his odd pals to help him trash the place. Wearing turtlenecked red jumpsuits, their mops of wild blue hair streaming behind them, the kite-flying lunatics tear around "with big bumps, jumps and kicks / and with hops and big thumps / and all kinds of bad tricks." A self-appointed baby-sitter/morality czar, the grumpy goldfish is a perfect foil for the Cat.

However, the Cat is not shameless. After the boy finally asserts himself and orders the fun-loving feline to "pack up those Things" and hit the road, the Cat is the picture of remorse. Even his whiskers and bow tie droop. Following his mournful exit, he redeems himself by riding back in on a typically Seussian gizmo--a sort of cleanupmobile--and its white-gloved mechanical hands tidy up in a twinkling.

Plot Summary:

Two children are moping indoors on a rainy day when in strolls the Cat in the Hat. Making one of the most unforgettable entrances in the history of children's literature, the lanky feline, stylishly dressed in a candy-striped stovepipe hat and oversized bow tie, creates a whirlwind of misbehavior that the kids are at first powerless to halt.

Related Books:

For more wacky humor, try Simms Taback's There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.

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