50 Years Of "The Cat In The Hat"

  The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play. So we sat in the house on that cold, cold, wet day. So begins one of the most famous children's books in history. But how did Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, come up with that wonderful story?

On 9News 5 a.m. we looked back as The Cat In The Hat marks its 50th anniversary with Phillip Nell, one of the foremost experts on the work of Dr. Seuss. He's also authored The Annotated Cat: Under The Hat Of Seuss And His Cats.Nell says while Geisel had enjoyed some success as a cartoonist and humor writer in his early years, the road to his eventual superstar status as Dr. Seuss was a long one.

Geisel wrote his first childrens book in 1936 and it was promptly rejected by all 43 publishers he sent it to. A friend actually had to publish it for him.

During WWII Captain Geisel was assigned to Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit where he would work on documentaries.

But it was after the war when Geisel's publisher would notice an article in Life Magazine that said kids wouldn't read because the material was too boring. The publisher sent Geisel a list of 400 words, which he was then to pare down to 250, which was all the publisher figured a first grader could aborb.

Using 220 of the words, Geisel produced The Cat in the Hat. It was an instant success.

In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham. Cerf never paid the $50 bet.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and two Academy Awards, Geisel was the author and illustrator of 44 children's books, some of which have been made into audio cassettes, animated television specials, and videos for children of all ages. Even after his death in 1991, Dr. Seuss continues to be the best-selling author of children's books in the world.

For more information, check:

http://www.seussville.com/