 Ruth MacDonald asserts , " The Cat in the Hat is the book that made Dr. Seuss famous . Without The Cat , Seuss would have remained a minor light in the history of children 's literature . " Donald Pease concurs , writing , " The Cat in the Hat is the classic in the archive of Dr. Seuss stories for which it serves as a cornerstone and a linchpin . Before writing it Geisel was better known for the ' Quick , Henry , the <unk> ! ' ad campaign than for his nine children 's books . " The publication and popularity of the book thrust Geisel into the center of the United States literacy debate , what Pease called " the most important academic controversy " of the Cold War era . Academic Louis Menand contends that " The Cat in the Hat transformed the nature of primary education and the nature of children 's books . It not only stood for the idea that reading ought to be taught by phonics ; it also stood for the idea that language skills — and many other subjects — ought to be taught through illustrated storybooks , rather than primers and textbooks . " In 1983 , Geisel told Jonathan Cott , " It is the book I 'm proudest of because it had something to do with the death of the Dick and Jane primers . " 
