Temporary people, things, situations, objects, clothes, possessions. The lesson is that outside doesn’t have anything you can’t find inside if you’re willing to look and be creative. As a kid I always wanted to go outside but I didn’t’ have friends in the neighborhood and was an only child so I had to learn to entertain myself indoors. That’s where the fun is! But what’s inside can be just as rewarding and is in fact even better because it means being creative and learning and most importantly you dictate the terms not the outside world that’s always changing. Sally and her brother were so focused on outside. But if you can learn to dance and celebrate life no matter what’s weighing on you, then you’re the true winner because the truth is that nothing is permanent and nothing is guaranteed. It’s hard to look at what you have rather than at what you want but that’s really the secret to true happiness. Rainy days are going to happen but instead of begrudging them and wasting energy railing against things not being how they should be you just have to make the most of the situation. Every day that has clouds and no sun is a fight for me. The spirit of it is so fresh and really shows us how to approach life when things are not how we hoped.

In the end, the children must decide whether to tell their mother about all of the fun they had. When their mother is on her way back home house, the fish warns everyone and the Cat in the Hat and his two Things magically clean up everything in jiff, leaving the house spotless and undamaged. They end up having a fun filled day where they do everything from fly kites in the house to balance a cake on top of a pile of random house-hold objects. The Cat in the Hat and the Things end up causing a ruckus doing all sorts of fun, all the while the pet fish is warning them to be neat and not play such messy games. Out of the blue the Cat in the Hat shows up with a mysterious box that contains twin creatures Thing 1 and Thing 2. Their mother is gone away for the day and they are sad and blue that they are trapped inside all day.

In the story, Sally and her brother are stuck at home on a boring, rainy day. This classic everyone should know and should read to their younger relatives whenever they can.

Not only was he able to entertain children but he was able to convey such important and timeless messages in simple short stories! Seuss who gave us so many teachable stories. In celebration of International Children’s Book Day I want to highlight the contributions of Dr. What we can learn from The Cat in the Hat

Cat and the hat book