Imagine That!

Starred review from August 7, 2017
“1954 was a great year to be a kid, unless you were trying to learn how to read,” quips Sierra in this look at how Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, endeavored to create a beginning reader “so exciting that couldn’t stop turning the pages.” It took Geisel more than a year to get The Cat in the Hat just right; although Sierra writes mostly in prose, she occasionally slips into Seussian rhyme, as if to channel the pieces coming together in Geisel’s mind. Amid representational portraits of Geisel, Hawkes dives headlong into the wooly world of the books he created, blending imagination and reality—in one scene, Geisel walks up a swoopy staircase to his studio, trailed by furry and feathery nonsense creatures. It’s an engrossing and amusing glimpse of creativity in action and the making of a children’s book classic. Ages 3–7.

September 1, 2017

Gr 1-3-The 1950s was a boring time for beginning readers in the United States. After a critic wrote about the lack of fun books in this category, Seuss was determined to write one of his very own. Limited by the words that could be used for such a book, he created the classic The Cat in the Hat. Adults and children alike will enjoy reading about Seuss, his funny hats, and all the work that went into making one of the most well-known children's book characters of all time. Hawkes adeptly uses Seuss-like illustrations to tell his story, incorporating famous Seussian words, characters, and the man himself throughout. Children will love to learn more about this renowned author and how he came up with such a simple but ingenious book. Educators could use this work for various writing activities and lessons. Also Sierra's focus on how long it took Seuss to finish his masterpiece will communicate to young readers the stamina it takes to create. VERDICT An easy addition to any elementary school nonfiction collection.-Molly Dettmann, Moore Public Library, OK

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2017
How a masterpiece was cooked up, with Green Eggs and Ham for dessert.Breaking occasionally into verse herself--"Dr. Seuss, we insist! / Won't you please write a book that no kid can resist? / P.S. Use the words on this No-Nonsense List"--Sierra explains how the author of Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose and other favorites put aside his love of made-up words for a set, 236-item vocabulary, spun a "whiz-bang story" out of the elemental rhyme of "cat" with "hat," and after work followed by inspiration followed by more work released a classic. Nor did "Ted" stop there; he went on to pen and publish a whole line of early readers and also answered Bennett Cerf's challenge to produce a tale using only 50 different words ("Could he? Would he?") with another game-changer. Hawkes opens with an integrated 1954 street scene ("a great year to be a kid, unless you were trying to learn how to read") and closes with hat tips from the Cat and Sam-I-Am. In between he shows the then-clean-shaven Geisel (sometimes in "outlandish" hats of his own) hard at work surrounded by fantastical creatures drawn in Seussian cartoon style and placed against more-realistic, painterly scenes. He plays his typewriter like a magisterial pipe organist in one picture and bears that distinctive elfin grin throughout. Notes from Sierra, Hawkes, and the master himself bring up the rear. Buoyantly told, rich in insights into the creative process as well as the crafts of writing, illustrating, and storytelling. (book list) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)

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October 15, 2017
Grades 1-3 As this picture-book bio opens, readers learn that 1954 was a great year to be a kid, unless you were trying to learn how to read. The reason? School readers were just plain boring. (Sorry, Dick, Jane, and Sally.) So it fell to Theo Geisel, already famous as Dr. Seuss, to figure out how to write simple books with mostly one-syllable words selected from an approved list. Like, for example, cat and hat. Matching simple rhymes with spunky sketches turned out to be the key, and the rest, of course, is history. Sierra and Hawkes' collaboration here is more about process than personality (though the good doctor is seen wearing some fairly audacious hats as he works). Seussian images of creatures like the Cat are scattered throughout the pages, and Hawkes' own images of humor (a giant typewriter spewing stories) alternate with more staid pictures of the pondering doctor. Author and illustrator notes, along with writing tips from Geisel, complete this story of how a phenomenon was born.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
Sierra's origin story of the first modern easy reader, The Cat in the Hat, explains--via straightforward narration and occasional playful rhymes--the challenges Dr. Seuss faced while creating a beginning reader that would encourage kids to read a whole book. Hawkes's dynamic, colorful illustrations seamlessly mix the realistic and the Seussian. An informative and entertaining biographical snapshot of the author's important accomplishment.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)