The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
Author | Dr. Seuss |
---|---|
Illustrator | Dr. Seuss |
Language | English |
Genre | Children's literature |
Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | September 12, 1958 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
Preceded by | How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Cat in the Hat (plot wise) |
Followed by | Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories |
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back is a 1958 children's book written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss and published by Random House. In this book, the sequel to The Cat in the Hat (1957), the chaos-causing title character leaves a pink stain in the family bathtub, which spreads around the house as the children try to get rid of it, until the cat unveils a series of increasingly small cats from beneath his hat, the smallest of which resolves the problem.
Plot
[edit]A boy who narrates the story and his sister Sally are being left home alone for the day. This time their mother had left them with instructions to clear a large amount of snow when she is out. However, they were soon interrupted in their work by the return of the Cat in the Hat. The boy is warned by Sally not to talk to the Cat nor to let him come near reminding him of what happened the last time he came. However, the Cat lets himself into their house to get out of the snow, and the boy follows him in.
When he reaches the bathroom, he finds the Cat eating a cake in the tub with the hot and cold water on. The boy loses his patience and scolds the Cat for his antics, telling the Cat there is work to be done, and he should not be in the house eating cake like a pig. He told the Cat that he should get out of the house unless he helps out with the work. Then, he turns off the water and unplugs the tub, only to find that a long pink "cat ring" has formed around the sides of the bath tub. The Cat offers to help clean up, but his initial attempts to remove the pink spot are unsuccessful as he only transfers the mess from one object to another including their mother's white dress, the wall, their father's pair of $10 shoes (worth $108.49 when adjusted for inflation in 2024, and written as £7 when published in the United Kingdom), a rug, and their parents' bed.
Unsure of how to remove the stain from the bed, the Cat calls on the help of Little Cat A, who lives inside his hat, who then lifts his hat to reveal Little Cat B, who likewise reveals Little Cat C, each Little Cat being smaller than the last. The three Little Cats work together, transferring the stain to the television, then into a pan, and finally outside using a fan.
Seeing the stain cover the snow, Little Cat C lifts his hat to reveal Little Cats D to G. The seven Little Cats wage war on the snow spots shooting at pink snowballs with pop guns. This spreads the spots even more, so Little Cat G lifts his hat to reveal Little Cats H to V. But the harder the cats work, the more the spot keeps spreading until all the snow is pink, so Little Cat V takes off his hat to uncover Little Cats W, X, Y, and finally the microscopic Little Cat Z, who the Cat in the Hat claims can solve their problem using the rare "Voom" that he has in his hat.
Little Cat Z takes his hat off and unleashes "Voom", which finally eliminates the stain, clears all the snow from the paths, and returns all the Little Cats to the Cat in the Hat's hat. The Cat leaves, promising that he will return someday if they ever again have problems like "snow spots". He also states that his Little Cats will accompany him and the book ends with him listing all of the Little Cats in alphabetical order in the form of a metrically perfect rhymed quatrain.
Writing and publication
[edit]The Cat in the Hat Comes Back is a sequel to Geisel's book The Cat in the Hat. He did not wish to write a sequel, especially as he was more focused on his work running the Beginner Books imprint, but there was an unspoken implication from his publisher that a sequel was expected for such a popular book.[1] Geisel wrote The Cat in the Hat Comes Back at his home in La Jolla.[2]
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back was published in 1958.[3] It was one of the original five books published under Beginner Books, along with A Big Ball of String by Marion Holland, The Big Jump and Other Stories by Benjamin Elkin and Katherine Evans, A Fly Went By by Michael McClintock, and Sam and the Firefly by P. D. Eastman.[4] Geisel's book was the most popular of the group. He immediately began working on Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories while The Cat in the Hat Comes Back was prepared for publication.[5] After it was successful, Geisel decided that one of the lines on the cover was too dark and that it needed to be printed.[6]
Literary analysis
[edit]The Cat in the Hat Comes Back is instructional on the letters of the alphabet.[7] Geisel incorporated a conversational tone into The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, where he tells the reader "Now, don't ask me what Voom is, I never will know."[8]
Literature professor Lois Einhorn cites the Cat's return and the title of the book as an example of circularity found in the works of Dr. Seuss,[9] as well of his plot structure of order, disorder, and then return to order.[10] Einhorn compares the Voom to atomic energy and the pink stain as communism, both of which were major concerns of the world at the time of publication.[11] As one of several examples of physically small characters making the most difference, Geisel depicts Z, the smallest character in the book, as the one with the solution that resolves the story.[12]
Reception and legacy
[edit]The Cat in the Hat Comes Back was praised by critics and described as an excellent book for early readers, though it was considered slightly inferior to the first. Booklist and E.C. Mann of The Chicago Sunday Tribune celebrated the book for its humor.[2]
Following the 2003 film adaption of the original story, there were plans to make a sequel based on The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.[13] However, after the first film's critical failure, Theodor Geisel's widow Audrey Geisel decided not to allow any future live-action adaptations of her husband's works.[14][15][16]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Jones 2020, p. 278.
- ^ a b Fensch 2000, p. 131.
- ^ Fensch 2000, p. 19.
- ^ Jones 2020, pp. 279–280.
- ^ Fensch 2000, p. 132.
- ^ Jones 2020, p. 298.
- ^ Einhorn 2012, p. 55.
- ^ Einhorn 2012, p. 132.
- ^ Einhorn 2012, p. 28.
- ^ Einhorn 2012, p. 42.
- ^ Einhorn 2012, p. 90.
- ^ Einhorn 2012, p. 130.
- ^ Kirschilling, Gregory (October 3, 2003). "The Deal Report". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 20, 2007. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "Seussentenial: 100 years of Dr. Seuss". TODAY.com. February 26, 2004. Retrieved March 5, 2018 – via Associated Press.
Geisel says she will never again allow Hollywood to portray Seuss characters in live action.
- ^ Blair, Tom (February 2004). "Audrey Geisel". San Diego Magazine. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
- ^ Ivie, Devon (October 26, 2016). "Mike Myers Was a Huge 'Diva' While Filming The Cat in the Hat". Vulture. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
It was so widely panned that Dr. Seuss's widow banned any other live-action adaptations.
References
[edit]- Einhorn, Lois (2012). Why Do We All Love Dr. Seuss?: Discovering the Mystery and Magic of an Icon. Robert D. Reed Publishers. ISBN 978-1-934759-58-5.
- Fensch, Thomas (2000). The Man Who Was Dr. Seuss: The Life and Work of Theodor Geisel. New Century Books. ISBN 978-0-7388-3484-9.
- Jones, Brian Jay (2020). Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-5247-4279-9.
Sources
[edit]- Morgan, Neil; Morgan, Judith Giles (1996). Dr. Seuss Mr. Geisel: a biography. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-80736-7.
- Nel, Philip (2007). The Annotated Cat: Under the Hats of Seuss And His Cats. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-83369-4.
- Nel, Philip (2004). Dr. Seuss: American Icon. Continuum Publishing. ISBN 0-8264-1434-6.