Available:*
Library | Audience | Home Location | Material Type | Shelf Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Central | Kid/Juvenile | Non-fiction | Kids book | 810.9 S496N | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Johnson | Kid/Juvenile | Non-fiction | Kids book | 810.9 S496N | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
How did Dr. Seuss come to write The Cat in the Hat?
How long did it take him to write The Cat in the Hat and The Cat in the Hat
Comes Back?
Were these books instantly successful, or did their popularity build?
The answers to these questions and more can be found in this fascinating illustrated study of two books that changed the way our children learn how to read.
According to Professor Nel, The Cat in the Hat and its sequel operate on many levels. The books teach reading, but they also teach about poetry, politics, ethics, comics, history, and even conartistry Complete with the text of both books, photographs, draft material, and essays by Seuss, The Annotated Cat is like a DVD with all the extras. Cat lovers everywhere can gain a deeper understanding of two of the most popular children's books ever written, and the remarkable man behind them.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Nel proves that it is fun to take Seuss's work seriously. In 1957, the baby boom peaked at 3.9 million births, coinciding with a boom in children's literature. That same year, The Cat in the Hat was first published, creating an innovative type of children's literature that brought humor and originality to young readers. From the number of digits in the Cat's fingers (varies from three, four, or five) to the changes in colors of the bow tie of the Cat (white to red), Nel chronicles the development of the stories of The Cat in the Hat and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. The well-documented text includes original manuscripts, early sketches, and illustrations with detailed analysis and descriptions. This text is an excellent addition to any school or public library and is essential reading for all who work with youth, literacy, and literature.-Rebecca Sheridan, Easttown Library & Information Center, Berwyn, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
CAT IN THE HAT TURNS 50! In celebration of 50 years of Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat, Random House is releasing a pair of books to commemorate the occasion (see Children's Bookshelf, January 11). The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats by Philip Nell begins with the catalyst for Seuss's project, the article "Why Can't Johnny Read" in a 1954 Life magazine article. He then offers a brief biography of Theodor Seuss Geisel, before launching into a page-by-page analysis of The Cat in the Hat. Nel's commentary may center on one book, but along the way he offers a broader context of children's book publishing and education in the 1950s. The paper-over-board The Cat in the Hat Party Edition by Dr. Seuss features a glistening metallic blue cover and an opportunity for readers to participate in a campaign for literacy with First Book, as well as Project 236 (so named for the 236 words in the text of Cat), which culminates with the national read-aloud day on March 2, sponsored by the NEA's Read Across America. (Random, $30 192p ages 10-up ISBN 978-0-375-83369-4; Party Ed. $8.99 72p ages 5-8 ISBN 978-0-394-80001-1; Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Nel, author of Dr. Seuss: American Icon, delivers a meticulously researched and scrupulously attributed commentary on Seuss's revolutionary 1957 beginning reader, The Cat in the Hat, its sequel, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, and three short published pieces. Nel's introduction uncovers publishing histories, reviews, translations, adaptations (as animated television cartoons, for example) and tributes to Seuss and his Cat (including parade floats, commemorative postage stamps and a memorial sculpture). Nel recounts details of the Cat's birth: Seuss, exhorted in print by John Hersey to supplant the boring primers of the day with books that made learning to read fun, accepted the challenge. Saddled with a stipulated word count (the first Cat has 236) and a confounding list of permitted words, Seuss's anticipated lark took a year and a half to complete. Nel's material most compels when providing both visual and literary proof of Seuss's creative process, documenting recurring motifs from his work in advertising and political cartooning and revealing cultural influences ranging from the Katzenjammer Kids (think Thing One and Thing Two) to the atomic bomb (on the cataclysmically cleansing Voom in the second Cat). The fact-packed verbiage--seeming at times a gaudy inverse to Seuss's musically spare texts--discusses everything from the debate as to whether the Little Cats in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back are fractals, to the probability, based on "an unscientific sample of shoe prices" in 1957, that Dad's $10 shoes "would have been moderately priced dress shoes." While the aftermatter is impressively rich, photos and other visual documents are captioned only in the introduction--bound to cause all but the most casual reader to rue the lack of an index. The handsome, double-column layout of the annotations contrasts with the presentation of the Seuss texts, whose double spreads appear on right-hand pages, clipped slightly by the gutter. Revelatory, exhaustive and, occasionally, exhausting. (endnotes, bibliography, image credits, acknowledgements, author bio) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Why annotate a book that is under 4,000 words, even if it is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary? For one thing, The Cat in the Hat revolutionized the way kids learn to read. This lavishly illustrated and loving look at Dr. Seuss' small classic, as well as its sequel, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, wins kudos for its introduction. Nel does a terrific job of supplying the backstory behind both the book and the man and explaining why and how Cat became a worldwide favorite. As for the annotations, they range from interesting to odd to, well, stretches. For instance, a riff about how Geisel identified with the Cat's subversive sense of humor, and drew himself as both Cat and the Grinch is captivating. The information that the parents in the original and the sequel have separate bedrooms might make one say, Really? But sometimes the annotations are merely a rephrasing of the text. More often the visuals are the real stars here, with beautiful reproductions of the original art juxtaposed against Geisel's earlier work. Seuss lovers will love the whole package. Endnotes, extensive references appended. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2007 Booklist
