Sixty three years is more than enough proof of The Cat In The Hat’s longevity and contribution to children’s literature. First published in March 1957, The Cat In The Hat was written by Thedor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) in response to falling literacy rates in early childhood. Books like the Dick and Jane series were the most popular primers at the time.
The person who had suggested the book to Geisel was William Spaulding, who was the director of the education division at Houghton Mifflin. At the time, Geisel was in contract with Random House so the two publishers actually agreed to a deal: Houghton Mifflin’s edition would be sold to libraries, while Random House would sell to the public.
When writing the book, Dr. Seuss was frustrated with the set list of words that he could choose from that he decided to just create a story based on the first two rhyming words he found. Yes, the words were Cat and Hat. As for the illustrations, Dr. Seuss was already an accomplished illustrator. He had made money drawing cartoons for advertisements during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Commercial success followed quickly, with the book selling more than a million copies within the first 3 years of publication. Along with his many other notable creations such as How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Horton Hears A Who! and Fox In Socks, Dr. Seuss’s has left an incredible legacy of children’s books and increasing childhood literacy. To date, his works (more than 60 publications) have sold over 600 million copies worldwide with more than 20 translated versions by the time of his death. Many of his books continue to sell in the hundreds of thousands every year, as kids and even adults are still being introduced to his beloved works that have stood the test of time.
His Beginner Box Set (Hardcover) is a treasure for the ages and is available on Amazon for US$25.98 at the link below. It contains five of his bestsellers including Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop and Fox in Socks.
You can also check out his official website under Random House at Seussville.
For collectible figurines of The Cat In The Hat, look no further than the officially licensed Enesco Dr. Seuss range of creations. These are intricately designed and sculpted out of stone resin by none other than Jim Shore. We’ve selected the four best figurines here.
The Cat In The Hat 9.84 inch figurine, available here on Amazon for US$ 31.21.
The Cat In The Hat With Umbrella 6.5 inch figurine, available here on Amazon for US$ 37.24.
The Cat In The Hat & Friends 12 inch figurine, available here on Amazon for US$ 43.86.
The Cat In The Hat 5 inch hanging ornament, available here on Amazon for US$ 18.91.
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