Happy Birthday!

The Cat in the Hat turns 50 years old

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First graders at John Quincy Adams Elementary School in Washington, D.C., read Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat, which celebrates its 50th birthday this year. (Photo: Patrick G. Ryan/NewsCom)

March 2, 2007

Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat, one of the world’s most popular children’s books, is 50 years old this week.

Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, wrote and illustrated the story of the mischievous cat in 1957. This week marks the 50th anniversary of its publication.

As the story begins, a mysterious cat wanders into the parent-free home of a boy and a girl. The cat starts wrecking the house, as the children look on in shock. Finally, with some help, the clever cat cleans the place up before the children’s mother returns.  

According to Philip Nel, who recently wrote a book about Dr. Seuss's famous story, children love the character and actions of the cat.  

“He's a lot of fun. He creates chaos and creates excitement, and relieves the boredom of a rainy day," Nel told NPR. "And in the end, everything’s cleaned up, mother comes home and is none the wiser.”

The easy-to-read book is known to help kids start reading. Many people say that The Cat in the Hat started a new trend of early-reading books that were fun and exciting instead of dull and dry.

“Teaching children how to read with The Cat in the Hat was a real breath of fresh air,” Nel said to USA Today. “The rhymes just propel the reader along.”

Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) had been writing books for many years before he came up with the idea for the naughty cat with a hat. It was The Cat in the Hat, however, that made the name “Dr. Seuss” into a household word.

How It Was Born

In 1954, LIFE magazine ran an article about children’s literacy, or the ability to read. It said that not enough kids were learning how to read and it called for a better system. William Spaulding, a director at an educational book publishing company, had an idea.

Spaulding gave Geisel a list of nearly 350 vocabulary words for 6- and 7-year-olds, and asked him to use about 220 of them to write an interesting book for beginning readers.  

Geisel thought that the project would take him about a week to finish.  Instead, it took him a year and a half. In the end, he produced a masterpiece that has lasted generations. It is one of the best-selling children’s books of all time.

The book’s publishing company says that more than 10 million copies of The Cat in the Hat have been sold since it was first printed. Hundreds of thousands of copies are still sold every year. In 2003, the story was turned into a movie, starring Mike Myers.

Dr. Seuss died in 1991, but his stories continue to delight young readers all over the world.

Critical Thinking Question

Read today's news story, and then answer the following question.

Why do you think so many people love Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat?

Join a discussion of this question on our bulletin board.

 

Ezra Billinkoff is a contributing writer for Scholastic News Online.

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