<Tr> <Th> Preceded by </Th> <Td> How the Grinch Stole Christmas! </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> The Cat in the Hat Comes Back </Td> </Tr> <P> The Cat in the Hat is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and first published in 1957 . The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat, who wears a red and white - striped hat and a red bow tie . The Cat shows up at the house of Sally and her unnamed brother one rainy day when their mother is away . Ignoring repeated objections from the children's fish, the Cat shows the children a few of his tricks in an attempt to entertain them . In the process he and his companions, Thing One and Thing Two, wreck the house . The children and the fish become more and more alarmed until the Cat produces a machine that he uses to clean everything up . He then says his goodbyes and disappears just before the children's mother walks in . </P> <P> Geisel created the book in response to a debate in the United States about literacy in early childhood and the ineffectiveness of traditional primers such as those featuring Dick and Jane . Geisel was asked to write a more entertaining primer by William Spaulding, whom he had met during World War II and who was then director of the education division at Houghton Mifflin . However, because Geisel was already under contract with Random House, the two publishers agreed to a deal: Houghton Mifflin published the education edition, which was sold to schools, and Random House published the trade edition, which was sold in bookstores . </P>

When was the cat in the hat written