Suess-ical I

When I first read about the supposed “tension” in The Cat in the Hat, I laughed aloud. It’s just a silly children’s book, right? To give the argument a chance, I reread the text for maybe the thousandth time in my life and realized that, yes, there is a battle between good sense and nonsense within its pages. The cat’s suggestions of what constitutes good fun challenges the children to make a decision: abandon all reason and join the cat or remember lessons learned from their absent mother. The kids align with the voice of reason, their fish, and capture Thing 1 and Thing 2 to end their chaotic reign. Is there a modern text that presents this type of tension?

I’ve pondered this question for days and took a trip to Barnes and Noble to read through children’s books looking for a similar tension. It isn’t easy to identify. I appreciated the quandary in Mo Willem’s Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The book begins with a bus driver who leaves his vehicle for a moment. Immediately, a very cute pigeon hops onto the page and starts begging the reader to let him drive the bus! The pigeon tries every trick he knows to get permission to drive the bus. The reader, though, knows it is good sense to not let the pigeon drive the bus but it seems so nonsensical the reader wants to say, “Sure Pigeon, go ahead and try!” Unlike The Cat in the Hat, the reader must choose between anarchy (birds driving buses!) or the delightful picture of the very likeable pigeon driving the bus. The reader is forced to choose good sense when the bus driver returns and the pigeon hightails it out of there.

The pigeon doesn’t create as high a degree of tension as the cat does but one has the idea that letting the pigeon or cat get what they want may be somewhat dangerous. The Cat in the Hat still appeals to children today because children still experience the boredom of a rainy day. The books still contains relevant vocabulary presented in an entertaining, endearing way. What child wouldn’t want to have someone come and entertain them all day? This particular cat pushed the fun a little too far but it’s hard not to like him. After all, it’s hard to be angry with the cat when he returns to clean up his mess before the children get into trouble.

Be like me and follow the Pigeon on Twitter! http://twitter.com/The_Pigeon

Seuss, D. (1957). The cat in the hat. New York: Random House.

Willems, M. (2003). Don’t let the pigeon drive the bus! New York: Hyperion.