The Cat in the Hat 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
The Cat in the Hat 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. Geisel gave varying accounts of how he created "The Cat in the Hat", but in the version he told most often he was so frustrated with the word list from which he could choose words to write his story that he decided to scan the list and create a story based on the first two