And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street; The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins; Horton Hatches the Egg; Yertle the Turtle and Other Stores; How the Grinch Stole Christmas!; The Lorax

There are some adults who should take the time to read the written thoughts of Dr. Seuss...His books present great sense and sensibility even with the outstanding humor....Children love his books....and so do I....I have read them over and over to children in my classroom....and then we have a session of writing our own thoughts.....very stimulating to young children who are burgeoning authors!!

The book arrived sooner than expected which was wonderful since it is a Christmas gift. It was packaged in a flimsy cardboard envelope but arrived in good shape without any bends or creases. The only thing that displeased me was a faint, almost unnoticeable except in the right light, scratches on the cover like the book had gotten them on some sort of conveyor belt. Overall I'm fairly happy with the book and the delivery.

This is one of the earliest of Seuss's publications. I think it was printed in 1938. Some things just get better with age. It will challenge your young kids' minds and imagination. The rhyming helps them recall the text. In time they will repeat it from memory. Should be in every Seuss collections.

A Dr. Seuss mystery and first in the Bartholomew Cubbins series.

My Take
This is cute, and it does resonate, as I love hats and have my own much smaller collection. And it's lucky for Bartholomew that the executioner has rules!

The illustrations are all in black and white…except for that orange hat. It makes sense since it's the focus of the entire story, lol. And the illustrations are fabulous. I'd love for any one of them as art hanging on a wall.

Hmmm, I don't think I like a king who gets so upset about one hat! Or two or three…or more. If anything, I think I'd be laughing and pulling off the hats to see how many we'd go through.

I'm of two minds about this story. On the one hand, it does irritate me that the king can obviously see that Bartholomew has taken off his hat, even if another immediately pops up. Nor do I understand why he is so obsessed with Bartholomew removing his hat! On the other hand, I like that the king finally sees the light, both with Bartholomew and that nasty little nephew of his.

The moral of this story is about bullying and the abuse of power. It's a good topic to discuss with your kids. And I do like that there is a somewhat positive resolution in the story. Although you may want to gloss over the envy that brings it about!

The Story
It's a sad day for Bartholomew Cubbins when he goes into town to sell his family's cranberries. For that hat of his…the one hat he owns, and that had belonged to his father's father, suddenly goes wild.

It's a state that also drives the king wild and leads to some very precarious moments for Bartholomew!

The Characters
Bartholomew Cubbins lives in the Kingdom of Didd.

King Derwin is its ruler. Grand Duke Wilfred is the king's nasty nephew.

He has his own Royal Coachman and a Captain of the King's Own Guards. Sir Alaric is the Keeper of the King's Records and wears a ruler instead of a sword. Sir Snipps is the maker of hats; he wears a scissors instead of a sword. The Yeoman of the Bowmen can shoot mighty arrows. The Father of Nadd is a Wise Man who knows it all, but not as much as the Father of the Father of Nadd.

The Cover and Title
The cover has a pale blue-gray background with a young man with hair that flips up on the ends wearing a T-shirt, vest, and pants torn off at the knee with pointy-toed slippers. On his head is a hat, an Alpine hat…a Bavarian hat with a feather. In his hands, he holds hats and the floor is littered with yet more hats.

The title is the entire point of the story, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, and how they get Bartholomew into and out of trouble.

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, written by Dr. Suess, at Random House
If you like fantasy choldren's books with lots of pictures then this is the book for you. A boy is going to the market to sell cranberries and the king rolls by on his carriage, everyone takes of their hat but whenever Bartholomew takes off his hat another one appears. The king's nephew wahnts him to be executed because he is getting all the attention and even he can't take off Bartholomew's hat. After each hat pops off a new one comes on Bartholomew's head. The kind tries many ways to get the hat off, including shooting them iff with arrows and other ways to. Get ready Bartholomew this will be one funky ride.
Bartholomew is the main character, the poor farm boy that just can't take off his hat. There is also the king's nephew, the Duke of Wiinfred, is a snob and tries to kill Bartholomew after he can't take off Bartholomew's hat. There is also the king who is rather clueless throughout this whole book.
I would definately recommend this book to kids because it isn't hard to read and is very easy to understand. It is also very funny with many wierd and hillarious twists in it. Dr. Suess is a very good writer and i would recommend any of his books. He does a very good job of giving each character their own voice. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins is a Dr.Suess is a classic and everyone should read it.

The Bartholomew Cubbins books are examples of Dr. Suess's early children's stories ("The 500 Hats..." having been published in 1938), and thus they lack the sing-song poetry and and bright colors of his later works. They are my favorite Suess books, however, as they speak to any child who is frustrated and put upon by adults who talk down to them. The theme of The 500 Hats... is as relevant, if not more so, than it was when the book was originally published.
The magically re-appearing hats is frustrating to bartholomew, but to the adults around him it is a terrifying and disturbing thing, not because it is dangerous but because it threatens their sense of what should be. The interventions they try range from the simple (calling in "experts" like a tailor, wise men and magicians) to the desperate and frightening (ordering Bartholomew's head and the offending hats cut off). Throughout it all, bartholomew's desires and needs are forgotten, and he is looked upon merely as an extension of this "problem." Also involved is the king's nephew, a "normal" child who spearheads the movement to do away with Bartholomew, not out of fear or concern but out of simple spite. In the end, however, the magic and wonder of the event is recognized and celebrated rather than condemed.
I would particualrly recommend this book to parents of children with learning disorders. The themes descibed above would be particularly familiar, and the conclusion especially satisfying. The grim sections of the book (such as when the king orders bartholomew's execution) should not scare anyone off from what is a wonderful and inspiring story.

Bartholomew Cubbins, lowest of the subject of King Derwin has gone into town to sell some cranberries for his parents. When the king passes by, he doffs his hat, only have the king stop and accuse him of not taking his hat off. Surprised to find it is true, he takes his hat off, only to find a third hat on his head. The king has him arrested and begins trying to figure out ways to keep the hat off. His wise men and magicians are certainly no help. Meanwhile, Bartholomew must figure out a way to get his hat to stay off his head before the consequences become drastic.
This is an early Dr. Seuss book, and a lesser known of his works. Still, it tells a fun story about a boy in trouble for something he didn't do. Everyone can relate to that. Even when the king becomes obsessed with the hat, Bartholomew never looses his respect for the king.
This doesn't have the charm, creativity, or poetry of some of his other works, but is still fun for kids because of the absurd length they reach to try to get rid of that hat.

This was my favorite Dr. Seuss book from my childhood. Bartholomew, the main character, is a normal good kid who is easy to identify with. Kids will root for Bartholomew when a strange thing happens to him and things seem to get worse and worse. There's a wide range of human characters in the cast, from the opulence-loving king to quite a nice executioner.

The opening catalyst leads into a strong, suspenseful build and I loved the twist as Bartholomew frantically tries to take off his hat, only to be confronted with another in its place. The artwork is detailed and more grounded that the usual Seuss flights of fancy (not that there's anything wrong with those!).

Memorable first lines in books - we writers always try to hone the hook. Here is one:

In the beginning, Bartholomew Cubbins didn't have five hundred hats.

Going Christmas shopping for nieces and nephews I ran across a high fantasy story I read again and again growing up. The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss. Still a fine story; I hope nephew five likes it.

Written in prose instead of his normal poem scheme, the fantasy by Dr. Seuss has a beautiful pace and flow. Enemies and friends from the executioner to the spoiled Grand Duke distract Bartholomew from his ongoing issue of the hat which would not come off. The 1940 story still holds up perfectly for today's world.

This is a classic Seuss book for older children - it's dedicated to a girl 90 months old, which puts her at 7 and a half, my guess is that this book is intended to be read for children 7 years old or so.

Bartholomew Cubbins is struck by a terrible misfortune - every time he takes off his hat to the king, it is replaced by another. The king gets on his high horse about the subject, but everything turns out fine in the end when the king buys the final, majestic hat and puts it on his own head.

My nieces like this book quite a bit.

Bartholemew tried over and over to obey the orders of the King.The more hats he took off,the more splendid each hat became.King Derwin was gratified that he could have all the hats after the 500th was removed...and Bartholemew ended up feeling more important and less small to the Kingdom of Didd.

Dr. Seuss's second book was a childhood staple of mine. If one believes in the destiny of early influences then this book might just be responsible for my entry into the hat business. This great, lesser known Suess story, addresses the fact that the hat has historically served to establish the individual's rank in society and that relationship to the origins of hat etiquitte.

This was the book our Public Library chose for the Summer Reading Program when I was a little girl. We earned a hat for every book we borrowed during the summer months. I don't remember how many hats I earned (it was a lot!) , but this is one of the books that made me a lover of books and reading.

Who can resist the charm of this fantastic children's book -- one I recall fondly from my own youth? What a flight of fantasy back to the 1940s and my boyhood! It seems just yesterday when I trudged up the castle steps along with Bartholomew, removing one hat after another in deference to His Majesty, King Derwin. I loved the idea of ever-increasing plumage on each hat we tipped as we neared the top of the steps. It's rare to find a storyteller like Dr. Seuss these days -- one with the flair to illustrate his or her work too. Usually the artwork calls for a coworker, but this multi-talented author did both. All hats off to a genius!

It's also a joy to learn that a "new" Dr. Seuss kids' treasure ("What Pet Should I Get?") has been unearthed from the late author's 1960 files and is now on sale at your favorite bookstore -- and presumably on this website too. It sounds like a bonanza for animal lovers worldwide.

Lyn Shepard, Berne, Switzerland

I bought this book to read to my grandaughter because I'd read it to my Daughter 25 years ago.. It was one of her favorites and she made me read it over and over! (even tho it is kinda long :)
The book I received is in PERFECT condition....
thank you

This is one of the earliest of Seuss's publications. I think it was printed in 1938. Some things just get better with age. It will challenge your young kids' minds and imagination. The rhyming helps them recall the text. In time they will repeat it from memory. Should be in every Seuss collections.