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Summary: This Cat's ALL THAT!
Review: "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.
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Summary: Opening the Doorway for a Child's Imagination
Review: 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 the hat character, be sure to see Dr. Seuss Goes to War which documents his work as a political cartoonist in World War II. Then, encourage your child to use the book to come up with her or his own ideas about fun things to do as make-believe on a rainy day. Can they imagine a more fun make-believe visitor than the cat in the hat? What would the visitor do? If you ask these questions, you will extend your child's imagination now and for a lifetime. Enjoy for the rest of your life!
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Summary: Book is great, film is doomed...
Review: If you haven't read tCitH, buy the book right now. Buy/read all Dr Seuss books, today, and mercilessly indoctrinate your offspring. Or, you could doom them to never having a sense of humour; they're your offspring, so it's your choice...
Yeah, we've seen the Grinch, which was really a good interpretion. (for my money, Jim Carey will osmote into Jack Nicholson, history repeats.) But Mike Myers is overstretching himself this time. He's just not cool enough to be the Cat. Carey probably could've been, Myers will fail. Even in the preview mpgs, it just sucks. Pretend the movie doesn't exist, it's ugly and nasty, read the books, watch the cartoon... Myers has got it bottom-backwards; the cat's careless irresponsibility is the core of the character, dictating "right-minded correct behaviour" is just dumb. Kids got brains... Ah, jeez, it's so depressing. The Cat is an iconic figure, and Myers is gonna destroy him, 'cos he's run out of ideas. (Wayne, Austin P, worn out..) It'll be like the the Batman films, which were all garbage, betraying the Batman concept, (c.f. the Superman films, which really portrayed Supes, "the blue booby". Bats is much darker, and smarter than the films, etc..) So don't go see the Cat in the hat film, until you've read the books. After the film, you'll want to read all the other books, and won't go to see Cat in the Hat II; more inane japes.
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Summary: Cat in the Hat - a hard-hitting novel of prose and poetry
Review: "The Cat in the Hat" is a hard-hitting novel of prose and poetry in which the author re-examines the dynamic rhyming schemes and bold imagery of some of his earlier works, most notably "Green Eggs and Ham", "If I Ran the Zoo", and "Why Can't I Shower With Mommy?" In this novel, Theodore Geisel, writing under the pseudonym Dr. Seuss, pays homage to the great Dr. Sigmund Freud in a nightmarish fantasy of a renegade feline helping two young children understand their own frustrated sexuality. The story opens with two youngsters, a brother and a sister, abandoned by their mother, staring mournfully through the window of their single-family dwelling. In the foreground, a large tree/phallic symbol dances wildly in the wind, taunting the children and encouraging them to succumb to the sexual yearnings they undoubtedly feel for each other. Even to the most unlearned reader, the blatant references to the incestuous relationship the two share set the tone for Seuss's probing examination of the satisfaction of primitive needs. The Cat proceeds to charm the wary youths into engaging in what he so innocently refers to as "tricks." At this point, the fish, an obvious Christ figure who represents the prevailing Christian morality, attempts to warn the children, and thus, in effect, warns all of humanity of the dangers associated with the unleashing of the primal urges. In response to this, the cat proceeds to balance the aquatic naysayer on the end of his umbrella, essentially saying, "Down with morality; down with God!" After pooh-poohing the righteous rantings of the waterlogged Christ figure, the Cat begins to juggle several icons of Western culture, most notably two books, representing the Old and New Testaments, and a saucer of lacteal fluid, an ironic reference to maternal loss the two children experienced when their mother abandoned them "for the afternoon." Our heroic Id adds to this bold gesture a rake and a toy man, and thus completes the Oedipal triangle. Later in the novel, Seuss introduces the proverbial Pandora's box, a large red crate out of which the Id releases Thing One, or Freud's concept of Ego, the division of the psyche that serves as the conscious mediator between the person and reality, and Thing Two, the Superego, which functions to reward and punish through a system of moral attitudes, conscience, and guilt. Referring to this box, the Cat says, "Now look at this trick. Take a look!" In this, Dr. Seuss uses the children as a brilliant metaphor for the reader, and asks the reader to re-examine his own inner self. The children, unable to control the Id, Ego, and Superego, allow these creatures to run free and mess up the house, or more symbolically, control their lives. This rampage continues until the fish, or Christ symbol, warns that the mother is returning to reinstate the Oedipal triangle that existed before her abandonment of the children. At this point, Seuss introduces a many-armed cleaning device which represents the psychoanalytic couch, which proceeds to put the two youngsters' lives back in order. With powerful simplicity, clarity, and drama, Seuss reduces Freud's concepts on the dynamics of the human psyche to an easily understood gesture. Mr. Seuss's poetry and choice of words is equally impressive and serves as a splendid counterpart to his bold symbolism. In all, his writing style is quick and fluid, making "The Cat in the Hat" impossible to put down. While this novel is 61 pages in length, and one can read it in five minutes or less, it is not until after multiple readings that the genius of this modern day master becomes apparent.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book
Review: The Cat In The Hat is a great book. It's about a brother and sister who are left alone on a rainy day and told to be good. Then the cat in the hat comes and they do all sorts of stuff. I think this book is funny and interesting. Dr Suess is a good author and I recommend The Cat In The Hat and other Dr. Suess books to any child.
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Summary: One Classic that should be in every parents' collection.
Review: As a parent of a toddler, I occasionally find myself losing interest in some items in our collection, especially in those that my child wants me to read over and over. Not that I won't acquiesce, mind you, but some five-page works that are perhaps less imaginative than others are harder to approach with a high degree of enthusiasm. This book is not one of those. Thank goodness there is nothing in this book (written decades ago) that can in any way be deemed "politically incorrect." While my experience is solely with a two-and-a-half year old, I assume that this book would be interesting for older children, and is also geared to those learning to read. I can remember the animated feature that used to run on CBS every year (probably thirty years ago), but the book is far better. It is the tale of a cat who attempts to provide entertainment to a couple of children on a rainy day. A terrible mess is made in the process, but the Cat in the Hat "always picks up his playthings," and I believe parents can get some use out of this desirable character trait evident in the titled feline. The Suess rhymes and rhythms are terrible fun, and I have have yet to tire of them. It keeps the attention of my two year old, which is pretty good for a book of this length. The pictures, while a bit bland, are amusing. I recommend the purchase of this classic.
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Summary: Satanic Undertones! Buyer beware!
Review: I cannot believe that there are still parents out there who havent figured out the simple underlying theme to this book! Clearly the "cat in the hat" represents a satanic creature or symbol, whose sole purpose is the corruption and temptation of the children. He is DEMONIZING them! The fish represents reason and sensibility (God), and the author has made the cat satan... so look at this: Cats EAT fish! (...)Suess has basically said in his story that Satan will eventually devour all that is good and will corrupt all of his children while he watches helplessly from his glass prison. Parents BEWARE!
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Summary: The Cat in the Hat
Review: A book from my childhood - who could forget - it is Dr. Seuss, gang - you will love it I bet!
Rating:
Summary: The Cat In The Hat
Review: I thought this book was great. It is very funny. It's been my favorite book since I was real small. My parent use to read it to me all the time and I would crack up. I even have it on tape. I recommend this book to all children. It will put a smile on their face.
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Summary: Great kids book
Review: In this book There lived a girl and a boy who had only a mom and a talking fish. One day the mother stepped out and all of a sudden a dancing and talking cat. This book was great. It was one of my all time favorites.
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