<P> Donald Pease notes that The Cat in the Hat shares some structural similarities with other Dr. Seuss books . Like earlier books, The Cat in the Hat starts with "a child's feeling of discontent with his mundane circumstances" which is soon enhanced by make believe . The book starts in a factual, realistic world, which crosses over into the world of make believe with the loud bump that heralds the arrival of the Cat . However, this is the first Dr. Seuss book in which the fantasy characters, i.e. the Cat and his companions, are not products of the children's imagination . It also differs from previous books in that Sally and her brother actively participate in the fantasy world; they also have a changed opinion of the Cat and his world by the story's end . </P> <P> Ruth MacDonald asserts, "The Cat in the Hat is the book that made Dr. Seuss famous . Without The Cat, Seuss would have remained a minor light in the history of children's literature ." Donald Pease concurs, writing, "The Cat in the Hat is the classic in the archive of Dr. Seuss stories for which it serves as a cornerstone and a linchpin . Before writing it Geisel was better known for the' Quick, Henry, the Flit!' ad campaign than for his nine children's books ." The publication and popularity of the book thrust Geisel into the center of the United States literacy debate, what Pease called "the most important academic controversy" of the Cold War era . Academic Louis Menand contends that "The Cat in the Hat transformed the nature of primary education and the nature of children's books . It not only stood for the idea that reading ought to be taught by phonics; it also stood for the idea that language skills--and many other subjects--ought to be taught through illustrated storybooks, rather than primers and textbooks ." In 1983, Geisel told Jonathan Cott, "It is the book I'm proudest of because it had something to do with the death of the Dick and Jane primers ." </P> <P> The book led directly to the creation of Beginner Books, a publishing house centered on producing books like The Cat in the Hat for beginning readers . According to Judith and Neil Morgan, when the book caught the attention of Phyllis Cerf, the wife of Geisel's publisher, Bennett Cerf, she arranged for a meeting with Geisel, where the two agreed to create Beginner Books . Geisel became the president and editor, and the Cat in the Hat served as their mascot . Geisel's wife, Helen, was made third partner . Random House served as distributor until 1960, when Random House purchased Beginner Books . Geisel wrote multiple books for the series, including The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (1958), Green Eggs and Ham (1960), Hop on Pop (1963), and Fox in Socks (1965). He initially used word lists of limited vocabularies to create these books, as he had with The Cat in the Hat, but moved away from the lists as he came to believe "that a child could learn any amount of words if fed them slowly and if the books were amply illustrated". Other authors also contributed notable books to the series, including A Fly Went By (1958), Sam and the Firefly (1958), Go, Dog . Go! (1961), and The Big Honey Hunt (1962). </P> <P> The book, or elements of it, has been mentioned multiple times in United States politics . The image of the Cat balancing many objects on his body while in turn balancing himself on a ball has been included in political cartoons and articles . Political caricaturists have portrayed both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in this way . In 2004, MAD magazine published "The Strange Similarities Between the Bush Administration and the World of Dr. Seuss", an article which matched quotes from White House officials to excerpts taken from Dr. Seuss books, and in which George W. Bush's State of the Union promises were contrasted with the Cat vowing (in part), "I can hold up the cup and the milk and the cake! I can hold up these books! And the fish on a rake!" In 2007, during the 110th Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid compared the impasse over a bill to reform immigration with the mess created by the Cat . He read lines of the book from the Senate floor . He then carried forward his analogy hoping the impasse would be straightened out for "If you go back and read Dr. Seuss, the cat manages to clean up the mess ." In 1999, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp featuring the Cat in the Hat . </P>

Words to describe the cat in the hat