THE CAT AND THE HAT.

By Dr. Seuss(Theodore S. Geisel '25). New York: Random House, 1957. 62 pp. with illustrationsby the author. $2.

The books of Dr. Seuss have been pure nondidactic flights of fancy capturing the imagination of both parent and child, creations of tongue-twisting verse and illustrations, a blend of Dali and Goldberg. No profane "learning" motive has restrained the hand of the artist or compromised the purity of his purpose. Alas, Dr. Suess has been fraternizing with the educators and has prepared a book for "beginning readers" - thus threatening the very foundation of parent-child relations. Imagine a new Dr. Seuss book not read (and enjoyed) by the parent!

Happily, if it is possible to conceal from your child that The Cat and the Hat is built on a limited vocabulary - 220 first- and secondgrade words - or if you can discourage your child from learning to read, this latest fantasy of Dr. Seuss holds just as much charm as his previous riots of imagination. But certainly someone must take this Seuss in hand. Let us have no more exclusion of the parent under the guise of a juvenile do-it-yourself program. No parent can long remain sane without a leavening to a diet of such warped fare as Charlotte's Web or Little Black Sambo.

To attempt to describe Dr. Seuss' books is foolish. At best one can record the reception to them, and for those parents old-fashioned enough (or sufficiently self-deceptive) to believe that children's books are designed for children, Dr. Seuss' latest product more than qualifies. It was Terry, my five-year-old, looking over my shoulder at the New York TimesBook Review Section, who discovered the new Seuss book by the illustrations that accompanied its review. It was Terry who requested six days without break that The Cat and theHat be read twice each night before bedtime. It was Terry who, when asked how he liked The Cat and the Hat, replied, "I love it!" - an accolade otherwise reserved for band music, chocolate fudge icing, and walking through mud in bare feet.