The Cat in the Hat

Title: The Cat in the Hat

Author: Dr. Seuss

Publisher: Random House www.randomhouse.com

Publication Date: March 12, 1957

Genre: Picture Book

Audience: All Ages

Overview: The Cat in the Hat is a famous children's book written by Dr. Seuss. It features a mischievous cat who wears a red and white striped hat and a bow tie. One one rainy day while Sally, her brother ( the narrator ), and their pet fish, were stuck inside on a rainy day, the cat walked right in their door and began wreaking havoc in their house. He brings along two friends thing one and thing two which only makes things worse. The children struggle with getting him out by the time their mom gets home from work.

Activity: This book shows a lot of conflict and suspense. It could be very useful in a lesson where you are trying to get the students to decipher the plot of the stories and the difference between the main conflict, the rising action, the climax and the falling action or resolution. After reviewing the difference between the parts of the plot, you could read the book aloud before asking them to complete a worksheet where they dissect the plot and label them as the conflict, rising action, climax and resolution. Depending of the level of the students you are working with you could just hold a short discussion and pick the different parts of he plot as a group to ensure that they are understanding the difference between each part. This can be a difficult concept but I feel that this book is helpful in teaching the different parts of the plot.

Reviewer's Name: Kalli Parrish