 The book was published to immediate critical acclaim . Some reviewers praised the book as an exciting way to learn to read , particularly compared to the primers that it supplanted . Ellen Lewis Buell , in her review for The New York Times Book Review , noted the book 's heavy use of one @-@ syllable words and lively illustrations . She wrote , " Beginning readers and parents who have been helping them through the dreary activities of Dick and Jane and other primer characters are due for a happy surprise . " Helen Adams Masten of the Saturday Review called the book Geisel 's tour de force and wrote , " Parents and teachers will bless Mr. Geisel for this amusing reader with its ridiculous and lively drawings , for their children are going to have the exciting experience of learning that they can read after all . Polly Goodwin of the Chicago Sunday Tribune predicted that The Cat in the Hat would cause seven- and eight @-@ year @-@ olds to " look with distinct distaste on the drab adventures of standard primer characters " . 
