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The Cat in the Hat is a great book to teach kids to have fun but also to be responsible. The cat made a huge mess playing but afterwards he cleaned everything up and the house was spotless by the time Jack and Sally's mother came home. This teaches kids to play responsibly with their toys and be respectful enough to clean after themselves.

I have never been a fan of this book, or any Dr. Seuss book for that matter. Two children, home alone- a stranger comes in and makes havoc. Do the children ever tell their mom about the cat? Secrets about strangers is not a good model for children. They really should have listened to the fish!

I love all of Dr. Suess's books! I still have some memorized from when my kids were little.

The Cat in the Hat is actually a really bad influence on children. Not only does it show kids it's ok to allow strangers into your home, but the mother leaves her very young kids homes alone. The Cat makes a mess of the house (yes, he may help clean it up) AND he invites 2 more strangers into the house (the Things ). The only voice of reason in this book is the poor gold fish.

My kids love this book. It also is helping my child to learn to read. Great book

Ha ha ha! They did let a stranger in! I had NEVER thought of it in that way lol. It does give it a dark tinge now. Might have to remove it from my little ones shelves. Creepy.

I read this book a lot when I was a kid. I purchased it for my son a long time ago because it helps them with rhyming and it teaches them a great deal of responsibility. I would recommend this book for children that need help rhyming and want to learn more about certain words. This book also helps them when it comes to writing or talking about what happened in the story.

I remember asking my mom why the kids were home alone. It is a fun story to read, but there are definitely some creeper vibes from it.

This is one of my daughter's favorite books. It's funny, entertaining and the rhymes make it easy to memorize the whole sections of the book. After we read it a couple of times, my daughter started to read it with me and I think it's a great way for a preschooler to remember and recognize the new words.

How can one be critical of Dr. Seuss and think he is teaching bad or unsafe lessons? I have sat with children in many classrooms and have seen their curiosity peaked and their language skills improved and their confidence in reading skyrocket. Just with silly rhymes and words but always a moral mixed in, not necessarily shoved down their throat.

Interesting, I've never heard The Cat in the Hat criticized for being a bad influence on children (kids left home alone, kids let a stranger in the house, etc.) I think we need to be reminded that this is a children's book and we should read it as a child would. How many of you read this book or had it read to you as a child and thought that it was okay to let a stranger into your house? I honestly never thought of that; I have read the book to hundreds of students and never once were those kinds of questions brought up. Of course, if you are reading it to your child and you do get any questions you have a perfect opportunity to have a discussion about the difference between a make believe story and a book about real children. I can almost guarantee if you child's teacher has read the book aloud she / he has probably already talked about that as that is one of the things we discuss with children during read alouds.

This is a great book that even I enjoy reading as much as the kids enjoy it.

I love Dr. Seuss! I still fit mini-lessons into my high school class on Dr. Seuss's birthday.
To those who question the "creepier" side of the book with strangers and whatnot, please remember where all of the fairytales we tell our children came from originally...

My favorite dr.suess book had to be green eggs and ham. Although I never really did like the cat in the hat book and I now realize that it is kind of creepy because the kids let a stranger in the house.

My six year old loves all Dr. Suess books. He reads at least 2 a day, but The Cat in The Hat hasn't yet become a frequently read book in our house. I hadn't ever considered the lessons it was teaching, or not teaching. I looked at it as more of a confidence booster with simple words, repeating, rhyming, and just simple fun to read. When considering the morals present, like the letting in of strangers, being left home alone, making a mess, etc., I would think most kids would not be looking quite so deep, but there will always be those inquisitive minds who will ask. So far my son has not brought up the naughty behavior and bad choices made in the book, but if the time comes it will definitely be a good teaching moment on why it is fiction!