MAYOR GIULIANI CELEBRATES THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF
DR. SEUSS'S "THE CAT IN THE HAT"
Random House Will Donate Up To 150,000 Books
And Assist Literacy Campaign
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today issued a proclamation commemorating the 40th anniversary of Dr. Seuss's world renowned classic, The Cat in the Hat, during a ceremony at the Children's Museum of Manhattan. Joining the Mayor as he proclaimed March 4 "Cat in the Hat 40th Birth Day" in New York City, were Harold Clark, President of Random House Children's Publishing, and Andrew Ackerman, Director of the Children's Museum of Manhattan.
"The Cat in the Hat is a book for beginning readers that captures children's imaginations with its lively style and engrossing story about a familiar situation -- children home alone and bored on a rainy day. An entertaining stranger enters. Things get out of hand and there is the disaster of a wrecked house and mother returning!," said Mayor Giuliani. "In a world of simple, repetitive beginner books this was a real cliffhanger, with 225 different wonderful words that were fun to say. Charming red, white and blue illustrations by Dr. Seuss helped the children follow the story.
"Teaching a child to read gives that child the essential tools to a build future of hope and fulfillment. I take this opportunity to wish our mischievous but good-hearted Cat in the Hat a happy 40th birthday and many more to come. Characters like him make learning how to read an exciting adventure," stated the Mayor.
"The Cat in the Hat was born 40 years ago out of the concern that television, comic books and motion pictures could put our children at risk of becoming illiterate," the Mayor added. "Today, we share some of those same concerns. That is why I have made available $125 million of City money through the Municipal Assistance Corporation to fund Project Read, which we have established specifically to help New York City public school children improve their ability to read.
"In partnership with Chancellor Rudy Crew we have earmarked an additional $70 million this year and added it to $69 million already allocated for the purchase of books. By taking this step we are making sure that our children will not only have enough textbooks, but textbooks that are up-to-date and appealing," the Mayor concluded.
In celebration of the milestone, Random House Children's Publishing will turn birthday wishes into free books for underprivileged children. For every birthday card sent to The Cat in the Hat, the company will donate a book to The National Center for Family Literacy.
Children can make their own birthday cards or send one of the pre-addressed birthday cards made available by Random House at bookstores, libraries and museums across the country to:
The Cat in the Hat
c/o Random House Children's Publicity
201 East 50th Street
New York, New York 10022
Dr. Seuss, whose full name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, devoted a great deal of his writing career to children's books. Some of the most popular ones are: Dr. Seuss ABC; An Amazing Alphabet Book, Green Eggs and Ham, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut, There's A Wocket in My Pocket, and scripts for animated television such as "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," which earned the Peabody Award in 1971. Dr. Seuss died on September 24, 1994, at the age of 87.
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