Customer Reviews

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (Beginner Books(R))

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Dr. Seuss's "The Cat in the Hat" is one of the great classics of children's literature. I'm sure that a less daring author would have left well enough alone. But the good Dr. Seuss had the nerve to write a sequel! And, I'm happy to say, "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back" matches the subversive lunacy and imaginative wit of the Cat's first adventure.

The story begins with our narrator, the same little boy from the original "Cat," shoveling snow with his sister Sally. And, as in the first book, the Cat in the Hat arrives to turn their dull day topsy-turvy.

But this is no retread of the first book. The wily Cat has some new tricks to share, and some new friends to introduce to us. Little Cat A, Little Cat B, and the rest--including some brilliant surprises--are wonderful additions to the "Cat" mythos.

As in the original, the book has some unsettling nuances. Why are these kids home alone? Just what is that bizarre pink substance in the bathtub? But leave it to the psychologists and literary critics to debate the possible hidden meanings of the book; kids will enjoy the delightful rhymes and wacky illustrations. Congratulations, Dr. Seuss: you have shown that the sequel to a classic can be just as excellent as the beloved original!

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. The Cat in the Hat Comes Back was one of her picks.

The theme of this story builds from The Cat in the Hat. In that story, two children are home alone when the cat in the hat visits, makes a horrible mess, and manages to clean it all up just as mother returns. Although the family fish warned them about the cat, the children were gullible.

In this story, the children are not gullible, but the cat takes advantage of them anyway. The children are home alone shoveling deep snow while their mother is away in town for the day. The cat in the hat goes into the house before they can stop him, and eats cake in the bath tub while bathing. They told him to get out and pulled the plug. Unfortunately, that left a long pink cat ring. A contrite, but overconfident, cat in the hat says he'll take care of everything. But he just moves the pink mess from one valuable object to another, starting with mother's white dress. He is a very foolish cat!

Soon, he needs help. In his hat are 26 little cats from A to Z who are specialists at cleaning up the messes he just made. Eventually, the outside snow is so covered in pink spots so that the whole yard is one big spot! Then he calls on Z who is too small to see, and Z finishes the job. Everything is back in order.

This beginning reader is also designed to help with the alphabet. Long before the book can be read by your child, the alphabet sequence will be helpful. The book is moe difficult to read than The Cat in the Hat, so your child will probably not attempt it unless and until that book is mastered.

There are many subtle messages here that any parent can endorse. One, you have to be careful about letting people in your house. Although the cat in the hat is not sinister, children need to understand that lesson in a nonfrightening way. Two, if you know someone is a troublemaker, you'd better keep them away from mischief. Children are very accepting of mischievous children who set bad examples. This gives you a chance to praise the good behavior of the children while questioning the appropriateness of the cat's behavior. What else could the children have done? They will have this issue with friends in years to come. Three, the smallest cat is the most powerful. That's a rare voice in favor of examining people and animals for their worth in effectiveness rather than their size. Diminutive children will like this part. Four, by being persistent in dealing with the cat, everything turns out all right. Children need to learn that persistence can overcome adversity. Five, thinking ahead can save a lot of problems. If the children had given the cat some paper towels in the beginning or knew how to wash out a bath tub themselves, the complications would have been minor. As you read the story together, you can emphasize these lessons to help your child.

When you are both done with the book, you should discuss how problems can be prevented by anticipation. This is a good way to help your child's problem-solving ability mature.

Enjoy!

The Cat In The Hat Comes Back (beginner books) is a great book for children just learning to read. The child is introduced to words that rhyme and the letters of the alphabet. The focus is clearly on children since the entire short story takes place while two young children are left at home while their mother goes "to the town." Moreover, the illustrations are wonderful.

The action begins when the two kids, one boy and one girl, are shoveling snow while their mother runs errands. Naturally, The Cat In The Hat returns to do more mischief and, quite conveniently, set up a story that teaches children the alphabet and rhyming words. After the cat makes a mess in the bathtub we are introduced to all his little helpers who are named from A to Z--great alphabet lesson! The story is made amusing for small children because the pink mess in the tub goes to their mother's dress, the wall and eventually all the snow outside! It's a silly premise; but it'll work for young children just learning to read. They'll like the humor of this.

Of course, Seuss also inserts plenty of words to teach children more vocabulary. Children are introduced to words like cold and warm, fun and done, dig and pig, news and shoes, whose and news--and more! Excellent!

I cannot help but notice that some people felt that the use of guns in the story (they help take away the pink snow mess) might lead children to conclude that guns are "OK." Unfortunately, these people have a good point. Dr. Seuss could have and should have used another method instead of guns to clean away the pink snow mess. I will take off one star for this: I would take off more but the rest of the book is so thoughtfully done that I can't go lower on my rating.

Overall, I recommend The Cat In The Hat Comes Back for parents to use as a tool to help very young children learn to read. The kids will love it; and hopefully some fond memories will be made when you sit down and read this with your children. I also recommend that you mention that guns are bad and maybe add that the guns in this book were special in that they couldn't hurt anybody.

All in all, great job, Dr. Seuss!

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. The Cat in the Hat Comes Back was one of her picks.

The theme of this story builds from The Cat in the Hat. In that story, two children are home alone when the cat in the hat visits, makes a horrible mess, and manages to clean it all up just as mother returns. Although the family fish warned them about the cat, the children were gullible.

In this story, the children are not gullible, but the cat takes advantage of them anyway. The children are home alone shoveling deep snow while their mother is away in town for the day. The cat in the hat goes into the house before they can stop him, and eats cake in the bath tub while bathing. They told him to get out and pulled the plug. Unfortunately, that left a long pink cat ring. A contrite, but overconfident, cat in the hat says he'll take care of everything. But he just moves the pink mess from one valuable object to another, starting with mother's white dress. He is a very foolish cat!

Soon, he needs help. In his hat are 26 little cats from A to Z who are specialists at cleaning up the messes he just made. Eventually, the outside snow is so covered in pink spots so that the whole yard is one big spot! Then he calls on Z who is too small to see, and Z finishes the job. Everything is back in order.

This beginning reader is also designed to help with the alphabet. Long before the book can be read by your child, the alphabet sequence will be helpful. The book is moe difficult to read than The Cat in the Hat, so your child will probably not attempt it unless and until that book is mastered.

There are many subtle messages here that any parent can endorse. One, you have to be careful about letting people in your house. Although the cat in the hat is not sinister, children need to understand that lesson in a nonfrightening way. Two, if you know someone is a troublemaker, you'd better keep them away from mischief. Children are very accepting of mischievous children who set bad examples. This gives you a chance to praise the good behavior of the children while questioning the appropriateness of the cat's behavior. What else could the children have done? They will have this issue with friends in years to come. Three, the smallest cat is the most powerful. That's a rare voice in favor of examining people and animals for their worth in effectiveness rather than their size. Diminutive children will like this part. Four, by being persistent in dealing with the cat, everything turns out all right. Children need to learn that persistence can overcome adversity. Five, thinking ahead can save a lot of problems. If the children had given the cat some paper towels in the beginning or knew how to wash out a bath tub themselves, the complications would have been minor. As you read the story together, you can emphasize these lessons to help your child.

When you are both done with the book, you should discuss how problems can be prevented by anticipation. This is a good way to help your child's problem-solving ability mature.

Enjoy!

I am a substitute teacher in an elementary school. I have found that all of the grades love this book, and it does really makes them laugh (as well as me). This book is actually my favorite Cat in the Hat book, and I feel that every child should read, or have this book read to them.

Here we are, once again
The silly cat, the silly grin
The same old cat, the same old hat
Who has the same routine down pat

It came upon a snowy day
The cat in hat decides to pay
A visit once again to those
Friends he had earlier chose

And oops! It's bath time for the kitty
But he leaves the tub so gritty
He must go and look for help to clean
Such a mess should not be seen

That silly cat! That gosh-darned hat!
I still don't know what's up with that!
Where did he come from, once again
Surely fun like this is a sin!

The mischief truly knows no bounds
When cats like this are hang-arounds
And I should know, I've got some now
But they never reach my hats, somehow

But surely we would welcome more
Of the fun we knew before
And Dr. Seuss, he did provide us
With more tails, er, tails hilarious

Huzzah that the cat, he did come back
and with the hat, not on the rack
but on his head, inside devising
situations not compromising

But always ending up in spirit
most jolly, happy, and we're near it
when we read the silly rhymes
remembering them in silly times

We'll never forget the cat's appearance
(from a book not usually on clearance)
And thus he comes again to renew
His friendship with me, and also with you.

After the success of 'The Cat in the Hat', who wouldn't want a sequel? The same Cat and the same children are matched again in this story, for new mischief and new adventures. Who would guess that such clever rhymes and language inventions could be done with such a limited vocabulary? It is the very simplicity and low number of vocabulary words that makes this and other Dr. Seuss books such wonderful learning aids for children. The whimsical versification makes them a delight for adults, too.

Children who are raised on Dr. Seuss never forget him. And the Cat in the Hat is central to the Dr. Seuss canon; it is surprising that this sequel is not better known.

Pros
The cat again, the hat again
Cons

No, I cannot find a one, not one!

Brilliant!

This rhyming book has many twist and turns. The story begins with a boy and his sister Sally cleaning up the snowy drive way. Then along comes the cat in the hat, the main character.
The cat invites himself into their home. When he goes into the tub and eats a cake with pink icing. He leaves and awful pink ring in the tub. As the story goes on the cat trys to cleanthe spot up but it keeps getting on everything. Until, the cat in the hat calls for help from little cats A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z. ...
I enjoyed this rhyming book! though it was delightful,it is a tiring tounge twister. I believe this book is organized to help children learn about rhyming and the alphabet. I would reccommend this book to anyone with a small child, because it is a very good teaching tool and it is a classic story.

I LOVE this book, and so do my kids. It is a little more exciting than The Cat in the Hat, and definitely stands the test of time.

I like this book for a number of reasons. Firstly it is a reasonable length for a bedtime story. Secondly it is in poem-form rather than prose, which makes it easy to read quickly. Thirdly it is original and witty with scope for dramatic reading. And finally it provides a simple way of introducing the alphabet.

Of the Dr Seuss books I think it is the best. Why it should be out of print I cannot imagine!

On a completely different tack, I've just managed to find a copy of this to send to Karen and Shellie Poole of Alisha's Attic. I'm a fan of their music (see http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~simono37/aaaa.html) and apparently Karen hates pink scum in the bath too!

The mischief continues as the ever troublesome cat in the hat returns. Although not as good as the first book, "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back," is another classic Dr. Seuss book told with clever rhymes, and aided with beautiful colorful illustrations. Once again, Cat in the Hat, drops in on the unsuspecting kids and makes a mess. The chuckles received while watching the cat make his messes, and the rather unorthodox ways that he and his helpers clean the mess up are the main storylines of the book.

My child loves this book, just like the first one.

Darien Summers, author of The Mischievous Hare, a children's book. The Mischievous Hare