The other day I picked up a book and it was "Cat in the Hat". I started to read it to my son, and after reading several pages, I couldn't believe what was being portrayed in the story. Just to think my mom used to read me this very book. Then nothing was really thought of the words, but now, as a mother, I can't believe what I am reading to my son. How were these books popular?
Summary
There were two kids, Sally and Sam, whose mother was out. They were having a very dreary day, and then were graced with a surprise visit from a stranger, the Cat. He comes in, assures them their mom won't mind, and makes a very big mess. Before the Cat leaves, he cleans up his mess, and when Sam and Sally's mother returns home, nothing is amiss. The story ends with the question "What would YOU do, if your mother asked YOU?"
Synopsis
Let’s start with an easy one first: the mom:
Have you ever noticed that there is no father anywhere in this book? It is very clearly a single mom raising two children. If you look on pages 42 and 43, you will see the mother’s bedroom, with a twin bed and one pillow. So the first thing to think about when reading this tale is whether the mom is divorced or has chosen to have children out of wedlock. Now, this may not seem like a big deal in today’s society, but consider the fact that this book was published in 1957 and society was much different back then.
But, she also leaves her kids at home alone. On purpose. With the door unlocked. In a neighborhood inhabited by talking animals.
Sure, if the Cat hadn't showed up, Sally and her brother might have stayed by the window all day long. That's how well-behaved these two are. But that's not really the point. After all, what's one of the worst things that could happen if a kid is left alone? High on that list is a stranger coming in and causing them harm.
OK, now let’s look at the Cat. The Cat is a manifestation of an intruder/ stranger. The Cat just lets himself inside the home and start playing with the children. Like its saying "talking to strangers is okay"?
The second issue that arises is how the Cat makes decisions that are very careless, presumably to amuse the children and himself. However, some of the things he's doing are dangerous, and may not be acceptable to support. Should we laugh when people do wrong things to entertain us?
The Cat, seeing that his last attempt to entertain was thwarted by his poor balance, tries another way to amuse the children. He brings more friends into the house, Thing One and Thing Two. These two Things make even more of a mess than the Cat did! This can bring up discussions about social expectations and the appropriate behavior that differs between your home, and the home of a friend.
And then at the end of the story, a question is portrayed to the audience, "would you tell your mother" which makes the children ponder if they should lie or not.
All in all, I guess you can kind of see it as a learning book of what your children should not do. But those thoughts would only get portrayed if you read them the book and questioned the kids actions to your kids; but if they were to read on their own, those morals would not come out.
What do you think?