On the eve of the celebration of Ted Geisel's 100th birthday, I couldn't think of a more fitting tribute," commented Kate Klimo, vice president and publisher of the Random House/Golden Books Young Readers Group, a division of Random House Children's Books. "After all, it was with this book that Ted changed forever the way children learn to read, and it is gratifying to see it in the position of prominence it truly deserves."
Ted Geisel wrote "The Cat in the Hat" in response to John Hersey's 1954 article entitled "Why Do Students Bog Down on the First R?" published in Life magazine. Hersey was outraged with the current primers, calling them "antiseptic," claiming that children's books were boring and could not compete with cartoons, comics, and other more fun and interesting stimuli. He called for illustrations "that widen rather than narrow the associative richness the children give to words," and concluded that the work of artists like Geisel and Walt Disney would be more appropriate. Geisel took the challenge and, using a list of 225 words that first graders needed to learn to read, created "The Cat in the Hat." The book was an instant bestseller and catapulted him from pioneer in children's literature to definitive children's book author illustrator-the man who changed the way children in America learn how to read. There are now more than 8.5 million copies of "The Cat in the Hat" in print. Geisel wrote and illustrated 44 books for children during his lifetime, many of which are among the bestselling children's books of all time.
Starring Mike Myers in the title role, the highly anticipated film from Academy Award(R) winning producer Brian Grazer and director Bo Welch, also stars Alec Baldwin, Kelly Preston, Dakota Fanning, Spencer Breslin, and Sean Hayes. Random House has published 11 new titles based on the film including "The Cat in the Hat Movie Storybook" featuring full-color photos from the film, the first ever Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat: A Little Golden Book," a junior novelization and more.
"Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat" has been rated PG (Parental Guidance Suggested - Some Material May Not Be Suitable For Children) for mild crude humor and some double entendres.
2004 marks the centennial of Ted Geisel's birth, and Random House Children's Books will join Dr. Seuss Enterprises in a yearlong tribute to the man known and loved by generations of Americans as Dr. Seuss. For complete information on the events and activities comprising "Seussentennial: A Century of Imagination" log onto www.seussentennial.com.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"The Cat in the Hat" Premiere Interviews
"The Cat in the Hat" Production Photos
