The Cat in the Hat »

It s difficult to imagine the children s book landscape without Dr. Seuss, who is, almost half a century after The Cat in the Hat, the best-recognized children s book writer in the country. But until Dr. Seuss -- a.k.a. Theodor Seuss Geisel -- reinvented the genre with his colorful and exuberant Sneetches, Grinches, Zaxes, and Zooks, children s books were often little more than literal-minded lessons and cautionary tales intended to transform young readers into productive citizens.

One wet, rainy day while mother is out, a boy and a girl sit dejectedly in their chairs, watching the rain beat against the window. They're bored. Suddenly, in bursts a large cat in a tall striped hat, ready to play - and not just ordinary games, oh no! This cat likes to create mischief and mayhem, and to aid him, he brings Thing One and Thing Two. These two small fuzzy blue imps race around the house, wreaking havoc. Who's going to clean up this mess? This most famous of all the Beginner Books has been beloved by readers young and old since 1957.

Children's Literature

Since 1957, millions of children have loved the story of the mischievous cat in the striped hat who arrives on a cold and rainy day with his now-famous friends Thing 1 and Thing 2. Although Sally and her brother are admonished by their goldfish not to let that cat in the house, they ignore their practical pet—and the world of children's books changed forever. Written using only 236 easy-to-read words, author/illustrator Theodor Geisel, who wrote under the pseudonym Dr. Seuss, created this book as a reaction to the 1950s classroom reading materials that were considered uninteresting and thus part of the problem of illiteracy in America. To celebrate The Cat in the Hat's fiftieth birthday and to promote literacy, Random House has created this Party Edition with a snazzy foil cover, birthday logo, and a postcard to mail birthday greetings to the cat himself. For each birthday card received by mail or online, including the official postcard found only in the first printing of the Party Edition or a card created by a child, Random House will donate one book to First Book, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing low-income families with new books. Happy Birthday, Cat in the Hat!