The story begins as an unnamed boy who is the narrator of the book sits alone with his sister Sally in their house on a cold and rainy day, staring … See more

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 … See more

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 … See more

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 See more

Theodor Geisel, writing as Dr. Seuss, created The Cat in the Hat partly in response to the May 24, 1954, Life magazine article by See more

The book was published to immediate critical acclaim. Some reviewers praised the book as an exciting way to learn to read, particularly … See more

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." Donald Pease concurs, writing, "The Cat in the Hat is the classic in the … See more