Cat in the Hat Novelization

by Jim Thomas and Dr. Seuss

Book Overview

Based on the movie script and told from Conrad's waggish point of view, this junior novelization is a must-have for Cat fans everywhere. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375824707
• ISBN13: 9780375824708
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Length: 124 Pages
• Weight: 0.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.6" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 7 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 4

Customer Reviews

Happy Birthday to the cat (Oh no, I am as old as that!)

The Cat got old? Do not say that! Do not say that about the Cat! Fifty years old? It cannot be! That means I am as old as he! Am I as old as that old Cat? That Cat who wears that old top-hat? It seems like not so long ago I first began that book to know And later took it out again To read to Aly and to Bran And now it's half a century? Oh my! How fast the years do flee! You are not getting old, just better, Your rhymes inspire our Christmas letter You may have been born long ago But into old age you won't go Your childhood will never end You'll always be our children's friend For children everywhere, each one - Two hundred fifty mill-i-on* - Will always keep your wondrous verses In their heads when they converses. You've little competition. (Damn! There's just that pesky Sam-I-Am!) So here's to you, you grand old Cat. You've aged, but you are still "all that." Consider this a birthday toast, To one fine feline, one fun host Of bedtime stories far and near A top-hatful of birthday cheer! (.....)

This Cat's ALL THAT!

"In a world gone horribly wrong,full of giant mutant cats attired in fancy costumes,baring boxes full of horrendous oddities,and overly dictative talking fish...a young boy and his sister Sally,find themselves trapped,and under the spell of the want to do bad things!".....that's how the movie trailer would read anyways. In reality....this is the classic book that nearly every child,and adult should read,or have read to them. Two children left at home by their mother,on a boring rainy day,and told to behave. Enter the Cat In The Hat....who's goal in life,seems to be doing anything but behaving! The childrens goldfish is the voice of reason,but he is easily out voted,by the want to have "fun". But as we learn,fun that is without boundries,is fun that causes trouble! I remember this book as a child,and we all delighted in a Cat in a Hat,but how soon we would wish we were as smart as a fish! A great read for ALL,and a must for any childs library.

Subversive, disturbing, and brilliant

Dr. Seuss was one of those rare creative geniuses who both entertained us and challenged us to open our minds. "The Cat in the Hat" is an indispensable part of the Seuss canon. A bizarre blending of Seuss's trademark illustrations with an eerily Kafkaesque plot, "Cat" will delight both children and adults.The plot is simple: The narrator, a small boy, is left home on a rainy day with his sister Sally. But their boring day is interrupted by the Cat in the Hat, a weirdly anthropomorphic, talking feline who proceeds to turn their house into a chaotic playground. The illustrations--think Salvador Dali meets Beatrix Potter--are marvelous.This book is simple enough for beginning readers, yet full of subtle touches that could keep an army of literary critics and psychologists busy analyzing it for decades. And that is the brilliance of Dr. Seuss. Buy a copy of the book for your favorite child, buy a second for your favorite adult, and keep a third for yourself.

Opening the Doorway for a Child's Imagination

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute. To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. The Cat in the Hat was one of her picks.I have always thought of this book as a metaphor for the sort of "make believe" thinking that children like to do and are good at. The setting is a cold rainy day, and the children's mother isn't home. I have always transformed that into they are playing in their room while their mother is busy elsewhere in the house. Suddenly, a mysterious cat arrives who can do remarkable jugging (until he drops everything) and brings in a fun box (with two little creatures who fly kites). A parental voice, however, is always present in the form of the children's fish who constantly warns them to get rid of the cat in the hat. Suddenly, the mother is spotted about to reenter the house. The children are panic-stricken. The house is a mess! What to do? They are obviously about to be really in for it. I can feel the adrenaline rushing even now as I remember similar situations with friends as a child.But then, the cat in the hat returns with a miraculous device which cleans everything up! And then he is gone, just as their mother steps in. She asks, "Did you have any fun? Tell me. What did you do?" The two children don't know what to say. They ask you what you would do if your mother asked you. The ending is wonderful because it sets up a wonderful opportunity to talk about the story. Would the child let in the cat in the hat? Would the child ask the cat in the hat to leave and when? Was the fish correct in warning the children? What are the other reasons not to let strangers in? Why should you tell your mother if things go awry, or not? In the course of the discussion, fears that the story probably raises can be dealt with in a constructive way that reduces fear in the future and improves communication in the family. Most children have these kinds of fears, but aren't usually willing to bring them up. So the book gives you the excuse to work on improving their security.This is one of the more difficult Dr. Seuss books for beginning readers, so you'll be reading this one to your child for a while. The appeal to the child is very much in the idea of playing unrestrained in the house. Almost no child is allowed to do that, and the consequences are pretty funny for the child if they are happening to someone else. If you want to see the earliest versions of the cat in

a great, funny story for adults and kids

I loved this as a kid, and I love it now. Not politically correct like much childrens' literature today--and that's its charm. The children are not naughty, but they certainly get themselves into a pickle with the strange cat who cheerfully enters their home, wreaking havoc while their mother is out for the afternoon. In short, the house gets wrecked, but the cat can clean up as fast as he can mess things up, and by the time mom gets home, everything's back to normal. the last line in the book is best of all: "What would you do if your mother asked you?" No moralizing here--just a simple question. This is children's literature with a capital L....buy it for your kids, buy it for yourself if you're adult.