At first, with his big French accent, I couldn’t understand my kid asking for “le chat in da at” but I soon deduced it. This story about making a major mess and then cleaning it up before mom gets home is beyond a classic. And still a favorite for my son. I heard there was even a part 2…

“I know it is wet
And the sun is not sunny.
But we can have
Lots of good fun that is funny!”
- Cat in the Hat

Seuss's most cynical political work describes the cycle of every generation: first you hate the machine, then you rage against the machine, then you forgive the machine, then you become the machine.



Sally and her brother, who, like Dostoevsky's sick man and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, will remain unnamed, join with the force of revolution, embodied by the Cat in the Hat. Together they recruit agents of change and chaos - the furious Things One and Two - to dismantle the oppressive world built by their parents.



The ensuing freedom proves too much for them, though. They turn against the Cat, and finally they capture and cage Things One and Two. Meanwhile the Cat in the Hat literally becomes the machine:



His promise of anarchic freedom is a facade. In fact he is an agent of stasis, and everything is put neatly back just as it was. The revolution will be reset. Sally and her brother have become what they rebelled against. The idealism of another generation is crushed under the weight of convention. And what will you do, when your mother asks you?

The cat in the hat, Dr. Seuss
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ششم ماه جولای سال 2011 میلادی
عنوان: گربه کلاه به سر؛ نویسنده: سوس، برگردان: امیرحسین میرزاییان؛ مشخصات نشر: تهران، گیسا، 1389، در 61 ص، مصور رنگی، شابک: 9786009161843، گروه سنی: الف، ب؛ موضوع: شعر فارسی ترجمه شده از انگلیسی
در داستان گربه کلاه به سر؛ پسرکی همراه خواهرش در خانه تنها و بی حوصله هستند؛ تا اینکه گربه ای عجیب و غریب وارد خانه میشود و با کارهایش باعث میشود که حوصله آنها اصلا سر نرود! نوه ی خواهرم هانیه عاشق این کتابهاست، هر بار که میآیند، پیش از آمدنش دخترم اگر یادش رفته باشد، با هم میروند و برمیگزینند، با ایشان قرار گذاشته ام بار دیگر که آمدند باید داستانش را برایم بگوید، از حفظ داستان را میخواند. ا. شربیانی

Oh goody! The Amazon recommendation engine, which has now compiled an uncannily detailed map of all my reading preferences, has noticed that I like both children's books and books in French. It just mailed me to ask whether I had read The Cat in the Hat/Le Chat au Chapeau (Beginner Book).

Not only have I not read it, I didn't even know it existed! And turning to the relevant page, I find other interesting articles, like Eric Carle's La Chenille Qui Fait Des Trous and Easy French Storybook: Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Book + Audio CD): Boucle D'or et les Trois Ours.

Thank you Amazon!

OMG, I forgot how much I hated this book as a child. It gave me a sense of anxiety back then over the lack of control the kids had over the totally insane cat.

After reading this book to Alana for the first time, I realized that he is not in any way jolly, or fun or amusing. The Cat in the Hat is a psychopath.

I'm not sure what the moral of the story is. What's the purpose? Is it a lesson in never leaving your children at home alone? A reminder that you should never open the door to strangers? This book is a nightmare and a major head trip.

This "kids' book" is, in my opinion, a nightmare-quality horror story. Why, you ask? What's scary about a funny-looking cat? *shudder* Well, what's so scary about these cute things?


(Well, there actually is nothing scary about that last one. That still doesn't make it any less of a nightmare.)

Sometimes I have nightmares where everything goes wrong, but I am helpless to do anything about it. What's worse, the voice of reason is gone. Well, that pretty much sums up the plot of this book. n  As a horror story, it gets solid 3 stars.n Quick, somebody call Stephen King!

Two kids are left alone on a dreary rainy day - which by the way is a perfect setting for a horror story. (Sidenote: I am not that outraged with the mother leaving the kids unsupervised. In Eastern Europe parents do it all the time. And we survived ). Suddenly a stranger barges in and insists that the kids join him in his games (*cue ominous music here*). And he refuses to leave.

Yeah, if this creature barged into my house, I'd be curled up in a ball in a corner, wailing and wetting myself.



The sentient fish, who appears to supervise the kids and is the sole voice of sanity here, sensibly protests (He should not be here. He should not be about. He should not be here When your mother is out!) - and immediately gets physically threatened and abused. Terrified, it demands the abuse to stop - "This is no fun at all! Put me down! [...] I do NOT wish to fall!" - and narrowly avoids death. Hilarious, right?

n  Not to mention that, for a fish, seeing a cat is like you answering the doorbell just to greet a Grim Reaper. n



Next, the terrifying delinquent Cat unleashes Things (perfect name for horror creatures) who wreck havoc on the house. Then the Cat cleans up and vanishes. Basically there is zero evidence left of this horrific intrusion even if the kids tried to tell. But likely the poor little victims will keep quiet. And who knows what will happen the next time the Cat shows up, knowing there are no consequences...

*shudder* / *ominous music* / *Nataliya keeps her light on at night to avoid nightmares*

n  "Should we tell her The things that went on there that day?"n

YES. YOU SHOULD, KIDS. ALWAYS. PLEASE DO TELL YOUR PARENTS!
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Ok, enough about the story. 1 star rating for lazy writing and lazy rhyming. Apparently, the author spent months coming up with a long poem that is almost fully monosyllabic. Here is the issue. If children are old enough to read this long poem by themselves, they should be able to read more than a syllable at a time. I know I did. Let's not be condescending to kids - they are capable of a lot if we give them the benefit of the doubt.

Now, rhyming. I guess you run out of words quickly if you are limited to single syllables but still need to maintain the poetry rhythm. Still, it's not a justification for pathetic excuse of lines that go "Cold, cold wet day", "Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!", "We sat there we two", "The sun is not sunny", "Fun that is funny", "So so so..." That is just lazy. Just because the story is for kids does not mean it's okay for the writing to be subpar.

The story has enough exclamation points to drive you mad. "And then something went BUMP! How that bump made us jump! We looked! Then we saw him step in on the mat! We looked! And we saw him! The Cat in the Hat!"
To quote (and take slightly out of context) the great Terry Pratchett,

n  n    "Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign of a diseased mind." n  n

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Yeah. Not a fan of this one. Maybe it's because I am a few decades past the target audience. Maybe it's because the book scares the bejeezus out of me. 2 stars total for the horror potential (which is higher than my initial 1-star rating, so yay?). Sorry, kids.

I did not like "The Cat in the Hat". I did not like it and that is that.

What else can be said of this all time children's classic except that it is as enjoyable to read as an adult?

I have three boys, two grown now, and all three have listened to me read this to them and perhaps there was a while when I could have read it in my sleep (and may have!) If you ever go to Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, check out the Cat in the Hat ride. Good times!

Such a fun read. It's all about rhymes, rhythm and repetition. Easy read for children. And the illustrations are great.

I'd not read any Dr. Seuss books as a kid, but know of their massive popularity (through the movies) thought we'd start collecting them for my daughter.

These are such fun, striking images with distinct colours alongside playful rhymes makes for such a fun reading experience.

Who wouldn't be excited about a cat arriving at your door on a dull rainy day.
Its easy to see why these are so popular, I'm definitely going to get some more!

One of four books my 4-year old daughter picked out today. She loved it. She laughed and I think it made reading fun for her ---- hopefully a development that will continues as she grows up. Definitely sets the standard for kids' books!