View source for The Cat in the Hat

{{Short description|1957 children's book by Dr. Seuss}}
{{About|the book by Dr. Seuss|other uses}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Thing 1|One Thing (disambiguation){{!}}1 Thing}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox book
| image             = The Cat in the Hat.png
| caption           = Book cover
| author            = [[Dr. Seuss]]
| country           = United States
| language          = English
| genre             = [[Children's literature]]
| publisher         = [[Random House]], [[Houghton Mifflin]]
| pub_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!]]<br />[[The Cat in the Hat Comes Back]] ''(sequel)''
| illustrator       = Dr. Seuss
}}
'''''The Cat in the Hat''''' is a 1957 [[children's book]] written and illustrated by American author [[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 [[Primer (textbook)|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 Harcourt|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's most famous books, with the Cat himself becoming his signature creation, later on becoming one of the mascots for Dr. Seuss Enterprises. The book was adapted into [[The Cat in the Hat (TV special)|a 1971 animated television special]] and [[The Cat in the Hat (film)|a 2003 live-action film]], and the Cat has been included in many pieces of Dr. Seuss media.

==Plot==
An unnamed boy,<!--NOTE: This article is about the book where the boy is unnamed. Please do not change the name to "Conrad"--> who is the narrator of the book, sits with his sister Sally while home alone 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 [[Anthropomorphism|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 by asking the reader the question, "what would [they] do if your mother asked [them]?"

==Background==
[[File:Johnhersey.jpg|right|thumb|An article by [[John Hersey]] about literacy in early childhood provided inspiration for ''The Cat in the Hat''.]]
Theodor Geisel, writing as Dr. Seuss, created ''The Cat in the Hat'' partly in response to the May 24, 1954, ''[[Life (magazine)|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".<ref>{{cite web|last=O'Brien|first=Anne|date=March 2, 2011|title=An Educational Innovation: The Cat in the Hat|url=http://www.learningfirst.org/educational-innovation-cat-hat|publisher=Learning First Alliance|access-date=8 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102012917/http://www.learningfirst.org/educational-innovation-cat-hat|archive-date=2 November 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>Nel 2004, p.&nbsp;29</ref> In the article, Hersey was critical of school [[Primer (textbook)|primers]] like those featuring [[Dick and Jane]]:

<blockquote>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.<ref>Hersey 1954, pp. 136-137</ref> </blockquote>

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

<blockquote>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, [[John Tenniel|Tenniel]], [[Howard Pyle]], "Dr. Seuss", [[Walt Disney]]?<ref>Hersey 1954, p.&nbsp;148</ref></blockquote>

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.<ref name="Morgan1">Morgan 1995, pp.&nbsp;153-154</ref> Spaulding had also read the best-selling 1955 book ''[[Why Johnny Can't Read]]'' by [[Rudolf Flesch]].<ref>Menander 2002, p.&nbsp;1</ref> Flesch, like Hersey, criticized primers as boring but also criticized them for teaching reading through [[word recognition]] rather than [[phonics]].<ref name="Menand 2">Menand 2002, p.&nbsp;2</ref> 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".<ref name="Morgan1"/> He reportedly challenged, "Write me a story that first-graders can't put down!"<ref name="Morgan1"/>

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.<ref name="Menand 2"/> 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.<ref name="Morgan1"/> However, according to [[Philip Nel]], Geisel gave varying numbers in interviews from 1964 to 1969.<ref name="Nel-background"/> 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.<ref name="Nel-background">Nel 2007, pp.&nbsp;24-26</ref>

==Creation==
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".<ref name="Nel-background"/> 
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.<ref name= "Morgan 153">Morgan 1995, p.&nbsp;153</ref> It was an old, shuddering elevator and was operated by a "small, stooped woman wearing 'a leather half-glove and a secret smile'".<ref name= "Morgan 153"/> [[Anita Silvey]], recounting a similar story, described the woman as "a very elegant, very petite African-American woman named Annie Williams".<ref name="silvey">{{cite episode |title=How the Cat Got His Smile |date=March 1, 2007 |url=https://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=7651308&m=7651309 |network=NPR |last=Silvey |first=Anita|series=Listen Morning Edition}}</ref> 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".<ref name="silvey"/>

[[File:Everest North Face toward Base Camp Tibet Luca Galuzzi 2006.jpg|thumb|left|According to Geisel, one of the stories he pitched before ''The Cat in the Hat'' involved scaling [[Mount Everest]].]]
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.<ref name="Nel-background"/> 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".<ref name="Nel 171"/> 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..."<ref name="Nel 171">"My Hassle With the First Grade Language" 1957, p.&nbsp;171</ref> Geisel gave a similar account to Robert Cahn for an article in the July 6, 1957, edition of ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]''.<ref name="Nel-background"/> 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.<ref>"My Hassle With the First Grade Language" 1957, p.&nbsp;173</ref> 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.<ref>"My Hassle With the First Grade Language" 1957, p.&nbsp;170</ref>

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.<ref name="Nel 167">"How Orlo Got His Book" 1957, p.&nbsp;167</ref> 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".<ref name="Nel 167"/> 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."<ref name="Nel 169">"How Orlo Got His Book" 1957, p.&nbsp;169</ref> 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."<ref name="Nel 169"/>

Geisel variously stated that the book took between nine and 18 months to create.<ref>Nel 2004, p.&nbsp;30</ref> 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 Palmer Geisel|Helen]].<ref>Pease 2010, pp.&nbsp;112&ndash;115</ref> 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."<ref name="Pease 114">Pease 2010, p.&nbsp;114</ref> Pease points to Helen's recovery from [[Guillain–Barré syndrome]], which she was diagnosed with in 1954, as the marker for this change.<ref name="Pease 114"/>

==Publication history==
[[File:Bennettcerf.jpg|right|150px|thumb|[[Bennett Cerf]] (pictured in 1932), the head of [[Random House]], negotiated a deal that allowed both Random House and Houghton Mifflin to publish versions of ''The Cat in the Hat''.]]
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.<ref name="Morgan1"/>

The Houghton Mifflin edition was released in January or February 1957, and the Random House edition was released on March 1.<ref name=Neary>{{cite web|last=Neary|first=Lynn|title=Fifty Years of 'The Cat in the Hat'|website=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2007/03/01/7651308/fifty-years-of-the-cat-in-the-hat#7649624|publisher=[[NPR]]|access-date=13 November 2013}}</ref> The two editions featured different covers but were otherwise identical.<ref name=Neary/> 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.<ref>Nel 2007, p.&nbsp;20</ref>

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.<ref name="morgan bb"/> [[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.<ref name="morgan bb"/> 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.<ref name="morgan bb"/> 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."<ref name= "Cott 115">Cott 1983, p.&nbsp;115</ref> Geisel told the Morgans, "Parents understood better than school people the necessity for this kind of reader."<ref name="morgan bb"/>

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.<ref name="morgan bb"/> In 2001, ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' placed it at number nine on its list of the best-selling children's books of all time.<ref name="pw">{{cite web|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA186995.html|title=All-Time Bestselling Children's Books|date= 17 December 2001|work=Publishers Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051225125934/http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA186995.html|archive-date=December 25, 2005}}</ref> 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''.<ref name=horrigan>{{cite web|last=Horrigan|first=Kevin|title=The Cat at 50: Still lots of good fun that is funny|url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/29362154.html|work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|access-date=22 November 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224005718/http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/29362154.html|archive-date=24 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Cattus petasatus: The cat in the hat in Latin|year=2000|publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci|isbn=9780865164710|pages=75|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dVVbAAAAMAAJ|author=Dr. Seuss |author2=Jennifer Morrish Tunberg |author3=Terence Tunberg |author3-link=Terence Tunberg |access-date=29 November 2013|language=la}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Neary/>

==Reception==
[[File:Ted Geisel NYWTS 2 crop.jpg|left|thumb|Geisel in 1957, holding a copy of ''The Cat in the Hat'']]
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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Buell|first=Ellen Lewis|title=High Jinks at Home|newspaper=[[The New York Times Book Review]]|date=17 March 1957 |postscript=, as quoted in Fensch 2001, pp.&nbsp;124–125.}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|last=Buell|first=Ellen Lewis|title=High Jinks at Home|newspaper=[[The New York Times Book Review]]|date=17 March 1957 |postscript=, as quoted in Nel 2007, pp.&nbsp;9–10.}}</ref> Helen Adams Masten of the ''[[Saturday Review (U.S. magazine)|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."<ref>{{cite news|last=Masten|first=Helen Adams|title=The Cat in the Hat|newspaper=[[Saturday Review (U.S. magazine)|Saturday Review]]|date=11 May 1957 |postscript=, as quoted in Nel 2007, pp.&nbsp;9–10.}}</ref> Polly Goodwin of the ''[[Chicago Tribune|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".<ref>{{cite news|last=Goodwin|first=Polly|title=Hurray for Dr. Seuss!|newspaper=Chicago Sunday Tribune|date=12 May 1957|location=Chicago IL |postscript=, as quoted in Nel 2007, pp.&nbsp;9–10.}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Nel-reviews">Nel 2007, pp.&nbsp;9–10</ref> The reviewer for ''The Bookmark'' concurred, writing, "Recommended enthusiastically as a picture book as well as a reader".<ref>{{cite news|title=Some Early Spring Books for Children and Young People|newspaper=The Bookmark|date=April 1957 |postscript=, as quoted in Fensch 2001, pp.&nbsp;124–125}}</ref> 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."<ref name="mailloux">{{cite news|last=Mailloux|first=Heloise P.|title=Late Spring Book List|newspaper=[[The Horn Book Magazine]]|date=June 1957 |postscript=, as quoted in Nel 2007, pp.&nbsp;9–10.}}</ref> She felt that the book's limited vocabulary kept it from reaching "the absurd excellence of early Seuss books".<ref name="mailloux"/>

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".<ref name=NEA2007>{{cite web |url= http://www.nea.org/grants/13154.htm/ |title= Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children |author= National Education Association |year= 2007|access-date=August 19, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205185239/https://www.nea.org/grants/13154.htm/|archive-date=February 5, 2009}}</ref> 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.<ref name=SLJPicture2012>{{cite web |url= http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2012/07/06/top-100-picture-books-poll-results |title= Top 100 Picture Books Poll Results |author= Bird, Elizabeth |publisher= A Fuse #8 Production. Blog. [[School Library Journal]] (blog.schoollibraryjournal.com) |date= July 6, 2012 |access-date= August 19, 2012 |archive-date= December 4, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121204030956/http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2012/07/06/top-100-picture-books-poll-results |url-status= dead }}</ref> It was awarded the Early Readers [[BILBY Award]] in 2004 and 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbcaqld.org/uploads/2/6/2/2/26224528/previous_bilby_to_2014.pdf |title=Previous Winners of the BILBY Awards: 2001 to date |website=www.cbcaqld.org |publisher=The Children's Book Council of Australia Queensland Branch |access-date=4 November 2015 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119061148/http://www.cbcaqld.org/uploads/2/6/2/2/26224528/previous_bilby_to_2014.pdf |archive-date=19 November 2015 }}</ref>

The book's 50th anniversary in 2007 prompted a re-evaluation of the book from some critics. Yvonne Coppard, reviewing the 50th 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."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Coppard|first1=Yvonne|title=''The Cat in the Hat'' Review|journal=Carousel|date=Autumn 2007|issue=37}}</ref>

==Analysis==
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]]''.<ref name="nel-analysis">Nel 2004, p.&nbsp;118-119</ref> 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.<ref name="nel-analysis"/> [[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."<ref name="nel-analysis"/> 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.<ref>MacDonald 1986, pp.&nbsp;110&ndash;111</ref> 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.<ref name="Cat-Black"/><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kalnay|first=Erica Kanesaka|date=2019-09-05|title=Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: The Hidden Racism of Children's Literature, and the Need for Diverse Books by Philip Nel (review)|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/732478|journal=Children's Literature Association Quarterly|language=en|volume=44|issue=3|pages=336–338|doi=10.1353/chq.2019.0040|s2cid=203446493 |issn=1553-1201|url-access=subscription}}</ref> 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."<ref name="Cat-Black">{{cite journal|last1=Nel|first1=Philip|title=Was the Cat in the Hat Black?: Exploring Dr. Seuss's Racial Imagination|journal=Children's Literature|date=2014|volume=42|issue=1|pages=71–98|doi=10.1353/chl.2014.0019 |s2cid=144668663 }}</ref>

[[File:Cotton Mather.jpg|thumb|right|Geisel once called the fish in ''The Cat in the Hat'' "my version of [[Cotton Mather]]".]]
Geisel once called the fish "my version of [[Cotton Mather]]", the Puritan moralist who advised the prosecutors during the [[Salem witch trials]].<ref name="nel 40">Nel 2007,&nbsp;40</ref> 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."<ref name="nel 40"/> Philip Nel notes that other critics have also compared the fish to the [[Id, ego and super-ego#Super-ego|superego]]. Anna Quindlen called the Cat "pure id" and marked the children, as mediators between the Cat and the fish, as the ego.<ref name="nel 40"/> Mensch and Freeman, however, argue that the Cat shows elements of both id and ego.<ref name="nel 40"/>

In her analysis of the fish, MacDonald asserts that it represents the voice of the children's absent mother.<ref name="macdonald-fish">MacDonald 1986, pp.&nbsp;114&ndash;115</ref> 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".<ref name="macdonald-fish"/> [[Alison Lurie]] agrees, writing, "there is a strong suggestion that they might not tell her."<ref name="lurie">Lurie 1992, p.&nbsp;70</ref> She argues that, in the Cat's destruction of the house, "the kids&mdash;and not only those in the story, but those who read it&mdash;have vicariously given full rein to their destructive impulses without guilt or consequences."<ref name="lurie"/> 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 [[Alexander Kerensky|Kerensky]] and then stops. It doesn't go quite as far as [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]]."<ref>Cott 1983, p.&nbsp;117</ref>

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.<ref name="Pease 103">Pease 2010, pp.&nbsp;103&ndash;105</ref> 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.<ref name="Pease 103"/> 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.<ref name="Pease 103"/> 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.<ref name="Pease 103"/>

==Legacy==
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."<ref>MacDonald 1988, p.&nbsp;105</ref> 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 [[FLIT#"Quick, Henry, the Flit!"|'Quick, Henry, the Flit!']] ad campaign than for his nine children's books."<ref name="pease-popularity">Pease 2010, pp.&nbsp;111&ndash;112</ref> 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.<ref name="pease-popularity"/> 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."<ref>Menand 2002, p.&nbsp;3</ref> 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."<ref name = "Cott 115"/>

[[File:WhiteHouseTheCatintheHat2003.jpg|left|thumb|A ''Cat in the Hat'' Christmas decoration in the [[White House]], 2003]]

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.<ref name="morgan bb"/> 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.<ref name="morgan bb">Morgan 1995, pp.&nbsp;156&ndash;157</ref> 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<ref name="morgan bb"/> until 1960, when Random House purchased Beginner Books.<ref>Morgan 1995, p.&nbsp;167</ref> 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).<ref name="first edition">{{cite web|title=First Edition Beginner Books|url=http://1stedition.net/beginnerbooks.html|publisher=1stedition.net|access-date=26 November 2013}}</ref> 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".<ref>"Somebody's Got to Win" 1986, p.&nbsp;126</ref> 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).<ref name="first edition"/>

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.<ref>Nel 2007, p.&nbsp;48</ref> In 2004, [[Mad (magazine)|''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!"<ref>MAD Magazine #447, November 2004, Drucker/Devlin</ref> In 2007, during the [[110th United States Congress|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.<ref name="Senate">{{cite news|title=Snubbing the White House, Without Snubbing the White House|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/07/AR2007060702206_2.html|author=Dana Milbank|date=June 8, 2007 | newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news|title=Senate tries to cool immigration bill heat|author=Stephen Dinan|work=The Washington Times|date=June 6, 2007 |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/jun/6/20070606-123944-6924r/}}</ref> In 1999, the [[United States Postal Service]] issued a stamp featuring the Cat in the Hat.<ref>Fensch 2001, p.&nbsp;176</ref>

''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.<ref name="pease-popularity"/>

In 2020, ''The Cat in the Hat'' placed second on the [[New York Public Library]]'s list of "Top 10 Checkouts of All Time".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nypl.org/125/topcheckouts |title=Top 10 Checkouts of All Time |author=New York Public Library |website=nypl.org |access-date=2020-11-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/nypl-most-checked-out-books-ever |title=These Are The NYPL's Top Check Outs OF ALL TIME|date=13 January 2020 |access-date=2020-01-13 |archive-date=2020-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113215347/https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/nypl-most-checked-out-books-ever |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Adaptations==
''The Cat in the Hat'' has been adapted for various media, including theater,<ref name="Spencer 2022"/> television,<ref name="Jensen 2010"/> and film.<ref name="Kelly 2024"/>

===Television===
''[[The Cat in the Hat (TV special) |The Cat in the Hat]]'' is an animated musical TV special which premiered in 1971 and starred [[Allan Sherman]] as the Cat.<ref name="124-125">{{cite book |last1=Woolery |first1=George W. |title=Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987 |date=1989 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-2198-2 |access-date=27 March 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/animatedtvspecia0000wool/page/124/mode/2up |pages=124–125}}</ref> In 1973, Sherman reprised the role for ''[[Dr. Seuss on the Loose]]'', where the Cat hosted three stories.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Woolery |first1=George W. |title=Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962–1987 |date=1989 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-2198-2 |access-date=27 March 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/animatedtvspecia0000wool/page/122/mode/2up |pages=122–123}}</ref> The character later appeared in other specials including ''[[The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat]]'' (1982).<ref name="124-125" />
The Cat is joined by Little Cats in ''[[The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss]]'' (1996-1998), an American puppet series by [[The Jim Henson Company |Jim Henson Productions]]. [[Bruce Lanoil]] voiced the Cat in the show's first season, while [[Martin P. Robinson]] took over for the second season. <ref>{{cite news |title=For Kids: Gotta See It |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-idaho-statesman-for-kids-gotta-see/159192113/ |work=The Idaho Statesman |date=3 March 1998 |page=28 |format=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Frazier |title=Dr. Seuss enters the Computer Age |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-record-frazier-moore-the-associat/159192581/ |work=Daily Record |agency=The Associated Press |date=16 November 1996 |location=Morristown NJ |page=25}}</ref> The animated television series ''[[The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!]]'' (2010-2018) was based on the book series "The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library". [[Martin Short]] was the voice of the Cat.<ref name="Jensen 2010">{{cite news |last=Jensen |first=Elizabeth |title=The Cat in the Hat comes back, in the name of science |url=https://www.houmatoday.com/story/news/2010/08/30/the-cat-in-the-hat-comes-back-in-the-name-of-science/26933121007/ |access-date=17 November 2024 |work=The Houma Courier |agency=The New York Times News Service |publisher=Gannett Co., Inc. |date=30 August 2010 |location=Houma, Louisiana}}</ref> [[Bill Hader]] played the Cat in the Hat in a 2014 ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' sketch.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sneider |first1=Jeff |title=Was Bill Hader's Cat in the Hat Casting Inspired by His 2014 SNL Sketch? |url=https://latenighter.com/news/was-bill-haders-cat-in-the-hat-casting-inspired-by-his-2014-snl-sketch/ |website=LateNighter |access-date=17 November 2024 |date=18 March 2024}}</ref>

=== Feature films ===
Spurred by the popularity of the live-action ''[[How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film) |How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]'' (2000), Universal Pictures produced ''[[The Cat in the Hat (film) |The Cat in the Hat]]'' (2003) starring [[Mike Myers]] in the titular role. Seuss' widow, [[Audrey Geisel]], objected to the portrayal of the author's key character, vowing to never again allow live-action adaptations.<ref name="Kelly 2024">{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Logan |title=Here's Why We Never Saw Any Live Action Dr. Seuss Movies After 'The Cat in the Hat' |url=https://collider.com/dr-seuss-movies-live-action/ |access-date=16 November 2024 |work=Collider |publisher=Valnet Publishing Group |date=11 August 2024}}</ref>

Geisel worked with [[Illumination (company) |Illumination Entertainment]] on ''[[The Lorax (film) |The Lorax]]'' (2012). Based on its success, an animated feature of ''The Cat in the Hat'' was approved. Rob Lieber was set to write the script, with [[Chris Meledandri]] as producer, and Audrey Geisel as executive producer,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chitwood |first1=Adam |title=Illumination Entertainment to Next Tackle Dr. Seuss' THE CAT IN THE HAT |url=https://collider.com/the-cat-in-the-hat-movie-illumination-entertainment/ |access-date=16 November 2024 |work=Collider |publisher=Valnet Publishing Group |date=15 March 2012}}</ref> but the project never came to fruition.

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.<ref>{{cite news |first=Borys |last=Kit |date=January 24, 2018 |title=New 'Cat in the Hat' Movie in the Works From Warner Bros. |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/new-cat-hat-movie-works-warner-bros-1077973 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=March 5, 2018}}</ref> In October 2020, [[Erica Rivinoja]] and Art Hernandez were announced as directors.<ref name="WB">{{cite web |title=Warner Animation Group Dr. Seuss Enterprises Expand World Dr. Seuss Feature Films |url=https://www.warnerbros.com/news/press-releases/warner-animation-group-dr-seuss-enterprises-expand-world-dr-seuss-feature-films |website=[[Warner Bros.]] |access-date=13 April 2023 |date=1 October 2020 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129193959/https://www.warnerbros.com/news/press-releases/warner-animation-group-dr-seuss-enterprises-expand-world-dr-seuss-feature-films |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, in June 2023, Hernandez was replaced by [[Alessandro Carloni]] while both Carloni and Rivinoja also wrote the screenplay for the film.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2023/06/warner-bros-animation-bill-damaschke-flintstones-1235412865/ |title=New Warner Bros Pictures Animation Boss Bill Damaschke On Group Rebrand, New Mission, 'Flintstones' Pic & More |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |website=Deadline |date=June 9, 2023 |access-date=March 9, 2024}}</ref> In March 2024, Hader was cast in the role of the Cat and set to also serve as an executive producer.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bill Hader to Star as The Cat in the Hat in first film from the Newly Reimagined Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Dr. Seuss Enterprises |url=https://licensinginternational.org/news/bill-hader-to-star-as-the-cat-in-the-hat-in-first-fil-from-the-newly-reimagined-warner-bros-pictures-animation-and-dr-seuss-enterprises/ |access-date=18 November 2024 |work=Licensing International |date=18 March 2024 |location=New York NY}}</ref> Later that month, it was announced that [[DNEG Animation]] would provide the animation for the film, [[Quinta Brunson]], [[Bowen Yang]], [[Xochitl Gomez]], [[Matt Berry]], [[Minnie Driver]], and [[Paula Pell]] joined the cast, and that the film would be released on March 6, 2026, after previously being expected for 2024.<ref>{{cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |title=Revamped Warner Bros Animation Sets 'Cat In The Hat' With Bill Hader, Quinta Brunson, Bowen Yang & More; Eyes Spring 2026 Release |url=https://deadline.com/2024/03/cat-in-the-hat-bill-hader-bowen-yang-quinta-brunson-release-date-1235861339/ |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=31 March 2024 |date=18 March 2024}}</ref> In March 2025, the film was moved up one week earlier to February 27, 2026, avoiding competition with [[Walt Disney Pictures]]/[[Pixar]]'s ''[[Hoppers (film)|Hoppers]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2025/03/weapons-paul-thomas-anderson-the-bride-warner-bros-release-date-changes-1236331441/|title=Warner Bros. Sked Shakeup: 'Weapons' Armed For August, Paul Thomas Anderson Moves To Fall, 'The Bride' Walking Down Aisle In 2026 & So Much More…|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|date=March 19, 2025}}</ref> In April 2025, it was revealed that the film will be set in a [[shared universe]] under the name of the Seussiverse.<ref>{{cite tweet |number=1907237476936368445 |user=THR |title=At #CinemaCon, Bill Hader shows off his animated #CatInTheHat movie, which WB Animation head Bill Damaschke says the film will launch a "Seussiverse." A work-in-progress trailer is shown. In the footage, a zebra breaks through the screen and a scene of chaos erupts, with other zoo animals and fireworks at a family home. The Cat in the Hat is wanted for the crime. The Cat in the Hat's home world is shown. He greets Giraffe with a Carafe and Pig in a Wig. He accepts a new job, and is threatened that he may lose his hat if he fails. He meets two kids, who spray him in the face with something that hurts his eyes. Thing 1 and Thing 3 are introduced and are adorable. There are also Things 2, 8 and many more bit.ly/3XF6Oqx |date=April 1, 2025}}</ref>

=== Other media ===
In 1997, the book was made into a [[Living Books]] adaptation for the PC.<ref>{{Citation |last=Living Books |title=Dr Seuss's The Cat in the Hat (Living Books) (1997) |date=1997 |url=http://archive.org/details/CATHAT1997 |access-date=2020-12-22}}</ref>

A [[The Cat in the Hat (video game)|video game]] for [[Xbox]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[Game Boy Advance]], and [[Microsoft Windows]], based on the 2003 film, was published in the same year.<ref name="MCXB">{{cite web|title=Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat for Xbox Reviews|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/dr-seuss-the-cat-in-the-hat/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131128030305/https://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox/dr-seuss-the-cat-in-the-hat|archive-date=November 28, 2013|accessdate=December 8, 2013|publisher=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref> 

A video game for [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] and [[Game Boy Advance]], based on the original children's book, was released in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Seuss: The Cat in the Hat (PS1) |url=https://www.ign.com/games/dr-seuss-the-cat-in-the-hat-2004 |access-date=March 31, 2025 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Seuss: The Cat in the Hat (GBA)|url=https://www.ign.com/games/dr-seuss-the-cat-in-the-hat-gba |access-date=March 31, 2025 |website=[[IGN]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Seuss: The Cat in the Hat |url=https://www.gamespot.com/games/dr-seuss-the-cat-in-the-hat-2004/ |access-date=March 31, 2025 |website=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref>

In 2009, the [[Royal National Theatre]] in London created a [[The Cat in the Hat (play) |stage version]] of the book, adapted and directed by [[Katie Mitchell]].<ref name="Spencer 2022">{{cite news |last=Spencer |first=Charles |title=The Cat in the Hat at the National Theatre, review |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/6835238/The-Cat-in-the-Hat-at-the-National-Theatre-review.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/6835238/The-Cat-in-the-Hat-at-the-National-Theatre-review.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=27 November 2013 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=17 December 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It has since toured the UK and been revived.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-12-22 |title=The Cat In The Hat UK Tour 2015 |url=https://www.londontheatre1.com/theatre-news/the-cat-in-the-hat-uk-tour-2015/ |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=LondonTheatre1 }}</ref>

''[[Seussical]]'', a musical adaptation that incorporates aspects of many Dr. Seuss works, features the Cat in the Hat as narrator.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Kenneth|date=October 10, 2003|title=New ''Seussical'' Tour Launches Oct. 10 in a Town With a Name Worthy of Dr. Seuss: Yakima|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/new-seussical-tour-launches-oct-10-in-a-town-with-a-name-worthy-of-dr-seuss-yakima-com-115699|access-date=April 1, 2022|work=Playbill}}</ref> The musical received weak reviews when it opened in November 2000, and closed less than six months later.<ref name="nytclose">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/17/theater/they-said-what-they-meant-seussical-closing-100-percent.html|title=They Said What They Meant: 'Seussical' Closing, 100 Percent|first=Jesse|last=McKinley| newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 17, 2001}}</ref>

[[Universal Islands of Adventure]] includes a [[dark ride]] called ''The Cat in the Hat'', based on the book, which opened in 1999.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wiley |first1=Kim Wright |title=Universal Orlando with kids : your ultimate guide to Orlando's Universal Studios, CityWalk, and Islands of Adventure |date=2002 |publisher=Prima Pub. |location=Roseville, California |isbn=076156358X |page=97 |url=https://archive.org/details/universalorlando0000wile/page/96/mode/2up?q=%22Cat+in+the+hat%22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://orlandoinformer.com/universal/cat-in-the-hat/|title=Cat in the Hat at Universal's Islands of Adventure|work=Orlando Informer|access-date=April 24, 2025}}</ref> Voices were performed by [[Corey Burton]] as the fish,<ref name="Corey Burton">{{cite web|title=Corey Burton – Islands of Adventure|url=http://www.coreyburton.com/ioa.html|access-date=August 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405194601/http://www.coreyburton.com/ioa.html|archive-date=April 5, 2018}}</ref> Corey Padnos as the boy,<ref name="CatHat Ride">{{Cite web|url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/rides-attractions/The-Cat-in-the-Hat/|title=The Cat in the Hat|website=Behind The Voice Actors|language=en-US|access-date=2024-08-07}}</ref> and [[Sandy Fox]] as Thing One and Thing Two.<ref name="SanFox">{{cite web|title=Sandy Fox's Confirmation as Thing One and Thing Two|url=https://www.facebook.com/129333240449936/photos/a.131695690213691.27454.129333240449936/131695946880332/?type=3&theater|publisher=Facebook|access-date=August 7, 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Dr. Seuss Memorial]]
* [[Grinch]]
* [[Horton the Elephant]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |last= Cott|first=Jonathan|editor-first=Thomas |editor-last=Fensch |title=Of Sneetches and Whos and the Good Dr. Seuss: Essays on the Writings and Life of Theodor Geisel |publisher= [[McFarland & Company]]|date=1983 |pages=99–123 |chapter=The Good Dr. Seuss |isbn=0-7864-0388-8}}
* {{cite book | last = Fensch | first = Thomas | title = The Man Who Was Dr. Seuss | publisher = New Century Books | location = Woodlands | year = 2001 | isbn = 0-930751-11-6 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/manwhowasdrseuss0000fens }}
* {{cite book |editor-first=Thomas |editor-last=Fensch |title=Of Sneetches and Whos and the Good Dr. Seuss: Essays on the Writings and Life of Theodor Geisel |publisher= [[McFarland & Company]]|date=April 14, 1986 |pages=125–127 |chapter='Somebody's Got to Win' in Kids' Books: An Interview with Dr. Seuss on His Books for Children, Young and Old |isbn=0-7864-0388-8}}
* {{cite news|last=Hersey|first=John|title=Why Do Students Bog Down on First R?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JFMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA136|access-date=8 November 2013|newspaper=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]|date=24 May 1954}}
* {{cite book|last=Lurie|first=Alison|chapter=The Cabinet of Dr. Seuss|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BEkB2J-Wb4sC&pg=PA69 |title=Popular Culture: An Introductory Text |editor1-last=Nachbar |editor1-first=John G. |editor2-last=Lausé |editor2-first=Kevin |year=1992|publisher=Popular Press |isbn=978-0-87972-572-3}}
* {{cite book|last=MacDonald|first=Ruth|title=Dr. Seuss|year=1988|publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Twayne Publishers]]|isbn=0-8057-7524-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/drseuss0000macd}}
* {{cite magazine|last=Menand|first=Louis|title=Cat People: What Dr. Seuss Really Taught Us|url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/12/23/021223crat_atlarge?currentPage=1|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|date=16 December 2002 |access-date=9 November 2013}}
* {{Cite book |title=Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel |last=Morgan |first=Judith |author2=Neil Morgan |publisher=[[Random House]] |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-41686-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/drseussmrgeisel00morg }}
* {{cite book|last=Nel|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Nel|title=The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss And His Cats|year=2007|publisher=[[Random House]]|location=New York|isbn=978-0-375-83369-4}}
* {{Cite book |title=Dr. Seuss: American Icon |last=Nel |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Nel |publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group|Continuum Publishing]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-8264-1434-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/drseussamericani0000nelp }}
* {{Cite book |title=Theodor Seuss Geisel |last=Pease |first=Donald E. |author-link=Donald E. Pease |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-532302-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/theodorseussgeis0000peas }}
* {{cite book |last= Seuss|first=Dr.|editor-first=Philip|editor-last=Nel |title=The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss And His Cats|publisher=[[Random House]] |date=17 November 1957 |pages=167–169 |chapter= How Orlo Got His Book|isbn=978-0-375-83369-4}}
* {{cite book |last= Seuss|first=Dr.|editor-first=Philip|editor-last=Nel |title=The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss And His Cats|publisher=[[Random House]] |date=17 November 1957 |pages=170–173 |chapter= My Hassle With the First Grade Language|isbn=978-0-375-83369-4}}

{{Dr. Seuss}}
{{The Cat in the Hat}}
{{BILBY Early Readers Award}}
{{Portal bar|Children's literature|1950s}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cat In The Hat, The}}
[[Category:1957 children's books]]
[[Category:American mascots]]
[[Category:American picture books]]
[[Category:Anthropomorphic cats]]
[[Category:BILBY Award–winning works]]
[[Category:Books by Dr. Seuss]]
[[Category:Cat mascots]]
[[Category:Children's books about cats]]
[[Category:Children's books adapted into films]]
[[Category:Houghton Mifflin books]]
[[Category:Random House books]]
[[Category:Short stories about talking animals]]
[[Category:The Cat in the Hat| ]]