The Cat in the Hat.

New York: Random House, Inc.,, 1957. Without The Cat, Seuss would have remained a minor light in the history of children's literature First edition, first printing. Welcomed by adults and children alike for its revolutionary blend of educational potential and entertainment value, The Cat in the Hat sold over a million copies within three years of its publication, brought the author's work into American schools, and made Dr Seuss a household name. Seuss was challenged to compose a rhyming story using a short list of simple first-grade words "amidst a national debate over growing illiteracy among children. More than one critic demanded a new type of school primer, one that was fun to read and creatively illustrated so that it could better compete with its nemesis, television" (ANB). His project took over a year. Part of the appeal was that Seuss's book centred on a feline lord of misrule, unlike the typically prim and proper children's reading material which was populated with "abnormally courteous, unnaturally clean boys and girls" (Hersey, p. 136). Seuss was posthumously praised for the "murder of Dick and Jane", characters of one infamously terrible primer, "which was a mercy killing of the highest order" (Quindlen, p. 19). The success of The Cat in the Hat led to the establishment of Beginner Books (incorporated by Random House), under which Seuss went on to publish dozens of titles. This copy has the relevant points for the first printing: the jacket priced 200/200, and the boards not laminated as they are in later issues. Quarto. Original blue boards, spine and front cover lettered and decorated in red, white, and black, pictorial endpapers. With dust jacket. Illustrated throughout by the author in red, blue, and black. Contemporary ownership inscription and later numerical stamp to front free endpaper. Foot of spine bumped, subsequent short closed tear to boards and jacket, extremities lightly rubbed; jacket lightly creased, extremities nicked, unclipped: a very good copy in like jacket. Younger & Hirsch 7a. John Hersey, "Why Do Students Bog Down on the First R? A Local Committee Sheds Light on a National Problem: Reading", Life, 24 May 1954; Anna Quindlen, "The One Who Had Fun", The New York Times, 28 September 1991.