“I know some good games we could play,” said the Cat in the Hat.

“The Cat in the Hat” was one of Dr. Seuss’ most popular children’s books ever created. The book featured the stove pipe hat feline troublemaker who tries to show two bored kids how to have fun on a rainy day with disastrous results. The Cat in the Hat has forever remained to be one of the most popular figures in children’s literature ever!

SUMMARY

The book starts out with the narrator, a little boy, stating that because it is raining outside, there is nothing fun to do inside the house and therefore, he and his sister, Sally, just sat by the window looking outside. Just as the kids are wishing for something fun to do, a loud “BUMP” is heard at the door and in steps the Cat in the Hat. The Cat in the Hat then explains to both the boy and Sally that he knows some good games to play and the kids, knowing that their mother was out for the day, did not know what to say about his suggestion. However, the family fish, who suddenly has the ability to talk, tells the Cat in the Hat to go away in this lyrical phrase:

“He should not be here

He should not be about.

He should not be here

When your mother is out!”

The Cat in the Hat then shows the fish what tricks he could do, which involves standing on a ball and holding various objects, such as the fish. Suddenly, the Cat in the Hat falls down and causes a big mess in the room. The fish, angry at the Cat in the Hat for making him fall into a pot, scolds the Cat in the Hat about the mess he made and orders him to leave. The Cat in the Hat still refuses to leave and brings in a surprise in a form of a big red wooden box.

In the box, it is revealed to be Thing One and Thing Two, who the Cat in the Hat claims to be very tame. However, the Cat in the Hat was wrong as Thing One and Thing Two start to fly kites inside the house and bump into many things, such as the mother’s gown and the bed. The boy starts to dislike the Things as they nearly wreck the house and to make matters worse, the children’s mother starts to come home. The boy then devises a plan to catch the Things and ends up catching them in a net. The boy then tells the Cat in the Hat to leave the house and the Cat in the Hat sadly picks up the Things and leaves the house.

The children look at the mess and thought that they would never clean up the house in time. Suddenly, the Cat in the Hat comes back and starts cleaning up the house with an awkward looking machine and leaves the house looking clean. The children’s mother comes back home and asks the children what did they do for today. The children did not know what to say for:

“What would you say if a Cat in a hat came to your house?”

PROS

Dr. Seuss’ superb rhyming text is as creative as it is funny. He easily finds the perfect rhyming of each word while telling a story through his rhymes. Dr. Seuss’ illustrations are also excellent in this book as the coloring in this book mostly consists of red, white, blue, and black. Dr. Seuss’ illustrations always stand out from other children’s books and the illustration that stood out the most was the image of Sally being pulled by one of the kite strings as Thing One and Thing Two are playing recklessly in the house. Most children’s do not put images of children being pulled by something that could endanger them, but “The Cat in the Hat” does it so delicately that it is not really a threat to the book’s young audience. This image also showcases that when the boy emphasizes that what the Things were doing was not fun at all, he shows Sally being forcefully pulled in by the Things’ riotous antics.

OVERALL

“The Cat in the Hat” is known as the cult classic from Dr. Seuss and deserves this honor. The book strongly emphasize the consequences of letting a stranger into a house while the adult is away and how the boy finally comes to his senses to realize that both he and Sally could get in trouble with their mother if he does not stop the Things from destroying the house. “The Cat in the Hat” is a greatly treasured book that will remain to be popular for many years.