THE ANNOTATED CAT: Under the Hats of Seuss and His Cats (50th Cat in Hat Birthday)

Random House, 2007. 1st Edition 2nd Printing. Hardcover. New/New. Dr. Seuss. CONDITION: NEW 2007 Random House hardcover (red boards) & dust jacket, first edition, 2nd printing. Annotations and Intro by Philip Nel. Color illustrations by - who else? - Dr. Seuss. Big and heavy book. CONTENT: Why annotate a book that is under 4,000 words, even if it is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary? For one thing, The Cat in the Hat revolutionized the way kids learn to read. This lavishly illustrated and loving look at Dr. Seuss' small classic, as well as its sequel, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, wins kudos for its introduction. Nel does a terrific job of supplying the backstory behind both the book and the man and explaining why and how Cat became a worldwide favorite. As for the annotations, they range from interesting to odd to, well, stretches. For instance, a riff about how Geisel identified with the Cat's "subversive sense of humor, and drew himself as both Cat and the Grinch" is captivating. The information that the parents in the original and the sequel have separate bedrooms might make one say, "Really?" But sometimes the annotations are merely a rephrasing of the text. More often the visuals are the real stars here, with beautiful reproductions of the original art juxtaposed against Geisel's earlier work. Seuss lovers will love the whole package. Endnotes, extensive references appended.