“Be calm, oh, Sire, and have no fears,” chanted the magicians.

“Our charm will work in ten short years.”


The charm has now worked for over eighty years and continues on.

This satire shows the power people give hats/crowns and the people who wear them. Standing way up on top of the mountain, looking way down to the bottom of the mountain, the king contemplates the people of his kingdom. Meanwhile standing at the bottom of the mountain, looking way up the mountain, a peasant boy Bartholomew Cubbins contemplates the king on the mountain. In the course of the story, the Kong and the peasant will meet. Will they let the 500 hats get in the way of satisfying some of their curiosity about each otjer?

In this story the words and visuals work well together, supporting each other, creating meaning. Contrary to what the book cover looks like, the text within contains illustrations made using a black art stick applied to the paper with bold strokes and minimalistic shading to highlight both how fast things can go in this story and to highlight the red hat the peasant boy Bartholomew Cubbins wears into town on market day.

This story is so much about the power people give hats and the people who wear them and how how ignorant they are of each other.

Very funny book. One if the few non-rhyming books ever written by Dr. Seuss.
We enjoyed it thoroughly.

Free on Audible.
Το άκουσα ελεύθερα στο Audible.

We just read this tonight, a recent library find. I had never heard of this book before and it reminded of “The big jump” I don’t even remember who that one was by, but I loved it as a kid. And this one was very nostalgic of it (also don’t know which one was written first haha). I read this to my 8 year old daughter and she giggled the whole way through. Truthfully, we both did.

It’s just a funny, ridiculous story, with a cute ending.

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday and the Read Aloud America program, I wanted to find one of his books we hadn't read yet.

I checked Goodreads and realized that we still had several more to read. So I borrowed a few of them from our local library and we chose this one tonight.

This story is different from what we've come to expect from the good doctor. The narrative is long and it doesn't rhyme. It's not filled with fantastic, crazy creatures. It's actually one of the most straightforward stories I have ever seen of his.

It's an entertaining story, filled with cheek and wry humor. I'm not sure what the message is, but it's fun to read aloud. We really enjoyed reading it together.

When i was a little girl, this was my favourite Dr. Seuss Story.Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday.Let's try to reflect on joy and thoughtfulness today.

It is an interesting and funny story about a young boy Bartholomew Cubbins and his old hat with a feather. Once when he tries to remove his hat in the honour of King Derwin magically one after the other hats appeared on his hat. King Derwin tried various ways to take off his hat but failed. In total 500 hats appeared and the last one that is the 500th one was the most beautiful hat in the Kingdom Of Didd. Cubbins exchanged that hat with King Derwin for gold coins and left happily for his home.

Dr. Seuss wasn't a great poet, but he had a way with words and told a good story, usually with a moral. We had this book when I was young. I like to think the good doctor influenced my poetry writing. Here is my ode to him:

ODE TO DR. SEUSS

by Alan Cook

In the whimsical world of beloved Dr. Seuss
Live an elephant (faithful), a big-hearted moose,
And creatures, the wildest that you ever saw,
A grinch with a heart that's three sizes too small,
A bustard, a lorax (he speaks for the trees),
And prejudiced sneetches, with stars, if you please;
There are 500 hats and a cat who wears one,
A circus and zoo that are oodles of fun,
And oobleck (be careful for what things you wish),
Green eggs (you will like them) and colorful fish,
And wonderful places like Solla Sollew,
All dreamt by the Doctor for dreamers like you.

.

I had been asked recently, what was my favorite childhood story in book form? I remember reading a number of big, fat, story books, and many wonderfully illustrated books. I probably enjoyed them all, almost indiscriminately, but, a few stood out. One of those was, "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins." The title still had not faded after many decades, and the novelty of the plot also made it memorable. Of course, millions of readers of all ages probably have a Dr. Seuss book that has its special shelf in memory. I did not recall the author of this library sourced book. I had not become a bibliophile at that early an age. But remembering the book, I sought and found another copy--in a library.

Rereading the book made me aware of what a varied cast of characters the good Doctor employed. It also provided a reminder of well he mirrors humanity in his tales; he is a Shakespeare for kids.

Bartholomew is a poor young peasant boy who has taken some produce to town to sell. The king decides to parade through town at the same time with his chariot and retinue. Our hero finds himself being stared at by the king because Bartholomew appears not to have doffed his feathered hat in respect of the royal presence. When the king raises this impropriety, the lad protests that he had taken off his hat. Then, touching his head, he finds another hat there. Then, another. And another.

This is a serious affront, so young Mr. Cubbins is taken to the castle where he again is brought before the king. He continues to remove his hat, only to have another appear. Dozens of times, then scores. The king brings a series of his staff to observe and correct what he perceives as continuing insolence, even though the boy is doing his best to show his respect.

The interactions continue with staff, and even the king's young nephew who makes the situation turn life- threatening. But, the continuing magical hat replacement changes. This leads to a surprising resolution of the issue.

The use of the magical is a frequent device in this genre, but the mirror of human behavior is a fresh treat for the returning adult reader. It was an interesting question that led to rereading and a broadened appreciation of a very talented writer. A fun read, that for its purpose deserves five stars, but that score seems unseemly for someone way outside the target audience.

At first when I saw this Dr Seuss book WASN'T a rhyming book I thought that I wasn't going to like it, but it is a funny little story. A power-mad King who demands a boy takes he hat off when in the presence of a powerful man as he, the problem is taking of your hat is not as easy as you'd think it would be. The illustrations are very nice too, all shades of black and grey with the bright red hat standing out. One of Dr Seuss's more interesting and less insane books. I Rate this book a 4/5 stars.