The Cat's Quizzer

Last updated
The Cat's Quizzer
The Cat's Quizzer cover.jpg
Hardcover cover
Author Dr. Seuss
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Children's literature
PublishedAugust 12, 1976 (renewed in 2004)
February 1993 (reissue)
Random House
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages72
ISBN 978-0394832968
Preceded by Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!  
Followed by I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!  

The Cat's Quizzer is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published by Random House on August 12, 1976. In March 2021, the book was withdrawn from publication by Dr. Seuss Enterprises. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

In the beginning of the book, the Cat in the Hat introduces the reader to Ziggy and Zizzy Zozzfozzel, saying that they both got 100%, but got every answer wrong, and then asks the reader the recurring question "are you smarter than a Zozzfozzel"? The questions in the book range from simple queries to questions difficult enough to wear the Cat out.

Withdrawal

On March 2, 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises withdrew The Cat's Quizzer and five other books from publication due to the inclusion of imagery they deem "hurtful and wrong". [3] [4] [5] The apparent reason for the book's withdrawal from publication is an illustration (on page 11) of a yellow figure in a coolie hat with the caption, "How old do you have to be to be a Japanese?" [6]

Removing the books caused a surge in sales for other works by Seuss that impacted Amazon's charts in the United States. It was reported by CTV News that nine of the top ten best sellers were all books by Seuss, excluding the books that were removed. [7] As the collectors' value of the withdrawn books rose substantially, eBay also delisted the books. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dr. Seuss</span> American childrens author and cartoonist (1904–1991)

Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American children's author and cartoonist. He is known for his work writing and illustrating more than 60 books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. His work includes many of the most popular children's books of all time, selling over 600 million copies and being translated into more than 20 languages by the time of his death.

<i>The Cat in the Hat</i> 1957 childrens book by Dr. Seuss

The Cat in the Hat is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by American author Theodor Geissel l, using the pen name Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow tie. The Cat shows up at the house of Sally and her brother one rainy day when their mother is away. Despite the repeated objections of 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. As the children and the fish become more alarmed, the Cat produces a machine that he uses to clean everything up and disappears just before the children's mother comes home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Picture book</span> Book with images at least as important as words

A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images in picture books can be produced in a range of media, such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor, and pencil. Picture books often serve as pedagogical resources, aiding with children's language development or understanding of the world.

<i>Green Eggs and Ham</i> 1960 childrens book by Dr. Seuss

Green Eggs and Ham is a children's book by Dr. Seuss, first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2019, the book has sold 8 million copies worldwide. The story has appeared in several adaptations, starting with 1973's Dr. Seuss on the Loose starring Paul Winchell as the voice of both characters, and more recently an animated TV series of the same name on Netflix.

<i>And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street</i> 1937 Dr. Seuss book

And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street is Theodor Seuss Geisel's first children's book published under the name Dr. Seuss. First published by Vanguard Press in 1937, the story follows a boy named Marco, who describes a parade of imaginary people and vehicles traveling along a road, Mulberry Street, in an elaborate fantasy story he dreams up to tell his father at the end of his walk. However, when he arrives home, he decides instead to tell his father what he actually saw—a simple horse and wagon.

<i>Oh, the Places Youll Go!</i> 1990 book by Dr. Seuss

Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a book written and illustrated by children's author Dr. Seuss. It was first published by Random House on January 22, 1990. It was his last book to be published during his lifetime before his death on September 24, 1991 at the age of 87. The book concerns the journey of life, its challenges and joys.

<i>On Beyond Zebra!</i> 1955 book by Dr. Seuss

On Beyond Zebra! is a 1955 illustrated children's book by Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. In this take on the genre of alphabet book, Seuss presents, instead of the twenty-six letters of the conventional English alphabet, twenty additional letters that purportedly follow them.

<i>If I Ran the Zoo</i> 1950 childrens book by Dr. Seuss

If I Ran the Zoo is a children's book written by Dr. Seuss in 1950.

<i>The Seven Lady Godivas</i> 1939 book by Dr. Seuss

The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History's Barest Family is a picture book of the tale of Lady Godiva, written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss. One of Seuss's few books written for adults, its original 1939 publication by Random House was a failure and was eventually remaindered. However, it later gained popularity as Seuss himself grew in fame, and was republished in 1987 by "multitudinous demand".

<i>McElligots Pool</i> 1947 childrens book by Dr. Seuss

McElligot's Pool is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and published by Random House in 1947. In the story, a boy named Marco, who first appeared in Geisel's 1937 book And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, imagines a wide variety of fantastic fish that could be swimming in the pond in which he is fishing. It later became one of the Seuss books featured in the Broadway musical Seussical where its story is used for the song "It's Possible".

<i>Scrambled Eggs Super!</i> 1953 book by Dr. Seuss

Scrambled Eggs Super! is a 1953 book written and illustrated by American children's author Dr. Seuss. The story is told from the point of view of a boy named Peter T. Hooper, who makes scrambled eggs prepared from eggs belonging to various exotic birds.

<i>I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!</i> 1978 book by Dr. Seuss

I Can Read with My Eyes Shut! is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel under the pen name Dr. Seuss and first published by Random House on November 12, 1978. In the book, the Cat in the Hat shows his son Young Cat the fun he can get out of reading, and also shows that reading is a useful way of gaining knowledge, and the thrill of the ways to read.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beginner Books</span> Publishing imprint of Random House

Beginner Books is the Random House imprint for young children ages 3–9, co-founded by Phyllis Cerf with Ted Geisel, more often known as Dr. Seuss, and his wife Helen Palmer Geisel. Their first book was Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat (1957), whose title character appears in the brand's logo. Cerf compiled a list of 379 words as the basic vocabulary for young readers, along with another 20 slightly harder "emergency" words. No more than 200 words were taken from that list to write The Cat in the Hat. Subsequent books in the series were modeled on the same requirement.

<i>The Cat in the Hat</i> (film) 2003 film by Bo Welch

The Cat in the Hat is a 2003 American fantasy comedy film directed by Bo Welch in his directorial debut and written by Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer. Loosely based on Dr. Seuss's 1957 book of the same name, it was the second and final live-action feature-length Dr. Seuss adaptation after How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). The film stars Mike Myers in the title role along with Alec Baldwin, Kelly Preston, Dakota Fanning, Spencer Breslin, Amy Hill and Sean Hayes in supporting roles.

Philip W. Nel is an American scholar of children's literature and University Distinguished Professor of English at Kansas State University. He is best known for his work on Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter, which has led to him being a guest on such media programs as CBS Sunday Morning, NPR's Morning Edition,Talk of the Nation, and CNN's Don Lemon Tonight.

<i>How the Grinch Stole Christmas!</i> 1957 childrens story by Dr. Seuss

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! is a Christmas children's book by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel written in rhymed verse with illustrations by the author. It follows the Grinch, a cranky, solitary creature who attempts to thwart the public's Christmas plans by stealing Christmas gifts and decorations from the homes of the nearby town of Whoville on Christmas Eve. Miraculously, the Grinch realizes that Christmas is not all about money and presents.

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, published over 60 children's books over the course of his long career. Though most were published under his well-known pseudonym, Dr. Seuss, he also authored a certain amount of books as Theo. LeSieg and one as Rosetta Stone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political messages of Dr. Seuss</span>

The political messages of American children's author and cartoonist Theodor Seuss Geisel, best known as Dr. Seuss, are found in many of his books. Seuss was a liberal and a moralist who expressed his views in his books through the use of ridicule, satire, wordplay, nonsense words, and wild drawings to take aim at bullies, hypocrites, and demagogues.

Oceanhouse Media, Inc. is a publisher of iOS, Android and Windows 8 apps. Their offerings include digital book apps from brands such as Dr. Seuss, The Berenstain Bears and Little Critter, as well as self-improvement apps from Hay House authors, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. Oceanhouse Media was founded in January 2009 by Michel and Karen Kripalani in Encinitas, California. The company released its first iOS app, Bowls – Authentic Tibetan Singing Bowls, on the Apple App Store in March 2009. Oceanhouse Media currently has licensing agreements in place with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Hay House, Mercer Mayer, HarperCollins, Random House, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Chronicle Books, Chicken Soup for the Soul and many others.

<i>Dr. Seuss Enters., L.P. v. Penguin Books USA, Inc.</i>

Dr. Seuss Enters., L.P. v. Penguin Books USA, Inc. 109 F.3d 1394 is a copyright lawsuit where the court determined if a copy of an original work's artistic style, plot, themes, and certain key character elements qualified as fair use. Penguin Books published a book titled The Cat NOT in the Hat! A Parody by Dr. Juice that use the artistic style, themes and characteristics of Dr. Seuss books to tell the story of the O. J. Simpson murder case. Dr. Seuss Enterprises accuse the publisher of copyright and trademark infringement.

References

  1. Seuss, Dr (1976). Amazon.com: The Cat's Quizzer (Beginner Books(R)) (9780394832968): Dr. Seuss: Books. Beginner Books. ISBN   0394832965.
  2. "The Cat's Quizzer". Barnes & Noble. 19 May 2001. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  3. Watts, Amanda; Asmelash, Leah (2 March 2021). "6 Dr. Seuss books would be withdrawn from publication because they portray people in 'hurtful and wrong' ways". CNN. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  4. Pratt, Mark (March 2, 2021). "Six Dr. Seuss books won't be published for racist images". CTV News. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  5. Gross, Jenny (March 2, 2021), "6 Dr. Seuss Books Will No Longer Be Published Over Offensive Images", The New York Times, retrieved March 2, 2021
  6. Hopper, Tristan (March 3, 2021). "Here are the 'wrong' illustrations that got six Dr. Seuss books cancelled". National Post. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  7. Taylor, Brooke (March 4, 2021). "Dr. Seuss tops Amazon charts after 6 titles pulled over racist imagery". CTV News. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  8. Nicole Lyn Pesce (March 4, 2021). "EBay will delist 'banned' Dr. Seuss books being resold for thousands of dollars". Market Watch. Retrieved March 6, 2021.