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Fifty years after the original release of Coover's satire, this rollicking fable of the grotesque, unhinged Cat in the Hat (and the stuffed shirts who bet on his success) makes for a bitterly funny indictment of politics-as-usual in 2017.
The Cat in the Hat looks at how, why, and who we vote for in a rhyming, nonfiction book that's perfect for Election Day, President's Day, and year-round reading—now with 16 bonus-pages of kid-friendly voting activities! Written in simple rhyme, this Cat in the Hat's Learning Library Book introduces early readers to the concept and practice of voting—with a focus on the American Presidency! Revised to include 16 pages of activities showing kids how to hold their own elections, it's an ideal choice for reading and talking about voting—whether for classroom pet or leader of the free world! Readers will learn the basic principles of democracy; how political parties are made; why Election Day is held in early November; and much more. Fans of the hit PBS show The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! will be delighted to see the Cat knows as much about history and civic responsiblity as he does about science!
As Robert Coover read Dr. Seuss to his children in 1968, he noticed “the little Cat in the Hat symbol on the front cover: ‘I CAN READ IT ALL BY MYSELF.’ It looked remarkably like a campaign button, and, by changing one letter, it was one.” Sensing a strange affinity between the anarchic Seussian world and the riots, assassinations, warfare and social upheaval that forever marked 1968 as a year of turmoil, Coover began to write. With the slogan “I CAN LEAD IT ALL BY MYSELF,” he imagines a hedonistic, novelty-crazed public and their shameless, nonsense-spewing, hat-wearing demagogue: the Cat in the Hat. While this mindbending classic vividly evokes the late 1960s—with psychedelic flights of fancy and tropes of the sexual revolution, civil rights, and Vietnam all heaving out of its pages—it also feels chillingly prescient a half century later. Its hilarity shot through with anger and fear, The Cat in the Hat for President anticipates and diagnoses the unheard-of spectacle of the current political circus, and, well, a cat in a (MAGA) hat.
Racism is resilient, duplicitous, and endlessly adaptable, so it is no surprise that America is again in a period of civil rights activism. A significant reason racism endures is because it is structural: it's embedded in culture and in institutions. One of the places that racism hides-and thus perhaps the best place to oppose it-is books for young people. Was the Cat in the Hat Black? presents five serious critiques of the history and current state of children's literature tempestuous relationship with both implicit and explicit forms of racism. The book fearlessly examines topics both vivid-such as The Cat in the Hat's roots in blackface minstrelsy-and more opaque, like how the children's book industry can perpetuate structural racism via whitewashed covers even while making efforts to increase diversity. Rooted in research yet written with a lively, crackling touch, Nel delves into years of literary criticism and recent sociological data in order to show a better way forward. Though much of what is proposed here could be endlessly argued, the knowledge that what we learn in childhood imparts both subtle and explicit lessons about whose lives matter is not debatable. The text concludes with a short and stark proposal of actions everyone-reader, author, publisher, scholar, citizen- can take to fight the biases and prejudices that infect children's literature. While Was the Cat in the Hat Black? does not assume it has all the answers to such a deeply systemic problem, its audacity should stimulate discussion and activism.
"As Robert Coover read Dr. Seuss to his children in 1968, he noticed "the little Cat in the Hat symbol on the front cover: 'I can read it all by myself.' It looked remarkably like a campaign button, and, by changing one letter, it was one." Sensing a strange affinity between the anarchic Seussian world and the riots, assassinations, warfare and social upheaval that forever marked 1968 as a year of turmoil, Coover began to write. With the slogan "I can lead it all by myself," he imagines a hedonistic, novelty-crazed public and their shameless, nonsense-spewing, hat-wearing demagogue: the Cat in the Hat. While this mind-bending classic vividly evokes the late 1960s--with psychedelic flights of fancy and tropes of the sexual revolution, civil rights, and Vietnam all heaving out of its pages--it also feels chillingly prescient a half century later. Its hilarity shot through with anger and fear, The Cat in the Hat for President anticipates and diagnoses the unheard-of spectacle of the current political circus, and, well, a cat in a (MAGA) hat."--Goodreads
From the author of The Red Notebook, described as 'Parisian perfection' by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, The President's Hat is a delightful fable about an unsuspecting accountant who happens upon President Mitterand's hat. 'Enjoy it for its fabulistic narrative, and the way it teeters pleasantly on the edge of Gallic whimsy' Guardian Paperback of the Week Dining alone in an elegant Parisian brasserie, accountant Daniel Mercier can hardly believe his eyes when President François Mitterrand sits down to eat at the table next to him. Daniel's thrill at being in such close proximity to the most powerful man in the land persists even after the presidential party has gone, which is when he discovers that Mitterrand's black felt hat has been left behind. After a few moments' soul-searching, Daniel decides to keep the hat as a souvenir of an extraordinary evening. It's a perfect fit, and as he leaves the restaurant Daniel begins to feel somehow ... different. Winner of the Prix Landerneau Découvertes and Prix Relay des Voyageurs Waterstones Spring Book Club 2013 Kindle Top 5 Title ABA Indies Introduce choice
The Cat is on a mission to make school FUN in this hilarious new Beginner Book--a sequel to If I Had Your Vote--by the Cat in the Hat--that's a perfect choice for back to school! When the Cat hears that Sally and her brother of the classic The Cat in the Hat think school is dull, he arrives at their classroom--along with Little Cats A, B, and C from The Cat in the Hat Comes Back--to demonstrate how school fun should be done! Among the changes he'd make? Adding two-headed class pets; replacing show-and-tell with smell-and-tell; planting book-blooming seeds (growing rooms full of books); and adding such nontraditional materials as mops and plungers to art class! An ideal choice for children entering school for the first time, this easy reader is bound to cause lots of giggles--helping to ease any back-to-school anxiety! Originally created by Dr. Seuss, Beginner Books encourage children to read all by themselves, with simple words and illustrations that give clues to their meaning.
Library Media Connection Editor's Choice Award Imagine starring in commercials and traveling in your own campaign bus! Or seeing your face on bumper stickers and T-shirts! If you ran for president, you would get to do these and other fun things, but you would also have to do a lot of hard work. You would study the nation's problems, tell the American people about your platform, select a running mate, and debate your opponents on live television. Finally, in November, Election Day would arrive. You would keep your fingers crossed and wait for the results—will you be the next president of the United States? A multicultural cast of children imagines what it would be like to run for president. The entertaining yet informative text is a good conversation starter for discussions on the election process. A note about this process accompanies the story.
