The Cat in
the Hat (1971) Starring
the voices of Allan Sherman, Daws Butler, Tony Frazier, Pamelyn Ferdin, Thurl
Ravenscroft, Lewis Morford Directed by Hawley Pratt. Teleplay by Dr. Seuss.
Based on The Cat in the Hat, published in 1957 by Dr. Seuss. Produced by Chuck
Jones and Ted Geisel. Run time: 25 minutes USA Animated, Musical, TV Special
In 1955, William Spaulding, then the director of Houghton Mifflin's education division, invited Theodor Geisel, writing under the pseudonym of Dr. Seuss, to dinner. Geisel was then best known as the author of If I Ran the Circus. Based on an article about literacy in early childhood, Spaulding supplied Geisel with a list of between 300 and 400 words every six and seven-year-old should know and reportedly challenged him to "Write me a story that first-graders can't put down!" Geisel came up with The Cat in The Hat using 236 words. And no first-grader was able to put it down. For many people, it would be their first book they could read on their own.