Somehow, I'm not a bit surprised...

Well, judging from early reviews and critiques from professional colleagues (notably, the collective genius of the Child_Lit crew), The Cat in the Hat is a great big bust. The New York Times has a great review by A. O. Scott, which includes some advice for the filmmakers and film-goers alike:

Neutering, to prevent this beast from spawning sequels, is perhaps the most humane solution. Or maybe it is best to follow the advice of that wise fish: "Make that cat go away! Tell that cat in the hat you do not want to play."

On a related note, I opened our Illinois Family Reading Night celebration Thursday past with a reading of Dr. Seuss' incomparable book, The Cat in the Hat and the kids loved it! Not one of them even mentioned the movie.

I guess we can all breathe a little easier knowing that, even as children have loved this book since it first appeared in 1957, they will continue to beg their parents to "read it again!" and will learn to read it themselves long after the film version has disappeared from our collective consciousness.