The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (Classic Seuss) - Hardcover

Dr. Seuss

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039484484X ISBN 13: 9780394844848

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 1989

Synopsis

Handpicked by Amazon kids’ books editor, Seira Wilson, for Prime Book Box – a children’s subscription that inspires a love of reading.

This classic treatise on bullying by Dr. Seuss features a foil cover and color-enhanced illustrations! As topical today as when it was first published in 1938, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins is the story of a young peasant (the same as in Bartholomew and the Oobleck—a Caldecott Honor Award-winner), and his unjust treatment at the hands of King Derwin. While The 500 Hats is one of Dr. Seuss's earliest and lesser known works, it is nevertheless totally Seussian and addresses subjects that we know the good doctor was passionate about throughout his life: the abuse of power (as in Yertle the Turtle and Horton Hears a Who); rivalry (as in The Sneetches); and of course, zany good humor (as in The Cat in the Hat and the 43 other books he wrote and illustrated)!

About this title

Review:

The haughty ruler of Didd, King Derwin (who would foolishly go on to summon green goo from the sky in his later years) showed the first signs of his silly self-importance back in this 1938 Seuss classic, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

When Bartholomew visits town one day, selling cranberries at the market for his parents, the King's procession screeches to a halt in front of him; King Derwin then leans out of his coach, demanding to know why Bartholomew hasn't respectfully removed his hat. "But, Sire, my hat is off." He shows the king the hat in his hands that he's just doffed, but sure enough, another identical one sits atop his head. He takes that hat off only to reveal another... and another, and another, and another. Poor Bartholomew goes through 45 hats, then 136, then 233, as the angry king calls in every expert in the kingdom, from Sir Snipps the haberdasher to the Father of the Father of Nadd. In the end, Bartholomew barely gets away with his head (forget about the hats!), as Seuss spins this weird and wacky tale, a strange thing that "just happened to happen and was not very likely to happen again." (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

From the Inside Flap:

Illus. in color. A read-aloud telling what happened when Bartholomew couldn't take his hat off before the king.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 039484484X
• ISBN 13: 9780394844848
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 56