[.ca] The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (ISBN 0394944844)

From Amazon.com:
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

Can Bartholomew Remove His Hat?:
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.

memories for a lifetime.:
As a adult in my 40's, it is not easy to recall many specific details from my early childhood. But I have never forgotten the specialness of my favorite book - The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss. The delight I felt in reading it - or better yet, having my Grandmother read it to me, is a memory I cherish. The whimsical and ever more fanciful hats that Bartholomew found upon his head captivated me. This book is a treasure and to this day, when asked for a recommendation of my favorite books, I secretly think of this childhood tale.

The Awesome Book called 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins:
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.

Iterative Wisdom for Creative Artists:
I love this book. But not just because it is a great children's story, which is deservedly is. This book is great, because it illustrates what I beleive to be the principle of creative repetition. The 500 hats, start simply -- each hat is as simple as the one before it. Yet, the magic of each new hat, propels the story forward through all the attempts of people to stop the flow of hats. All sorts of nay-sayers, dis-believers, and the supposedly wise are challenged by what they see. Eventually, this creative process creates such conflict that takes the situations to new heights, which somehow inspire spontantous improvement and variety. What used to be simple, becomes increasingly ornate and valuable, culminating in a creation that transcends the entire situation. So rather than a simple story, I take this as a metaphor to inspire the creative process. Rather than attempt to create the great works, just do the simple acts repeatly and notice the small variety accumulate into something great. (However, it would be silly, to take this as a metaphor for compound interest. ;) My art teacher described it this way. "Even with the simplest of subject matter, if you create many versions, over and over, it gives your work stength, a backbone, if you will, that will allow you to see the great art among your own work." So, even though this is a childrens book, it is worth buying, because it represents a value that can be meaningful to adults. And it's a fine tale as well.

Iterative Wisdom for Creative Artists:
I love this book. But not just because it is a great children's story, which is deservedly is. This book is great, because it illustrates what I beleive to be the principle of creative repetition. The 500 hats, start simply -- each hat is as simple as the one before it. Yet, the magic of each new hat, propels the story forward through all the attempts of people to stop the flow of hats. All sorts of nay-sayers, dis-believers, and the supposedly wise are challenged by what they see. Eventually, this creative process creates such conflict that takes the situations to new heights, which somehow inspire spontantous improvement and variety. What used to be simple, becomes increasingly ornate and valuable, culminating in a creation that transcends the entire situation. So rather than a simple story, I take this as a metaphor to inspire the creative process. Rather than attempt to create the great works, just do the simple acts repeatly and notice the small variety accumulate into something great. (However, it would be silly, to take this as a metaphor for compound interest. ;) My art teacher described it this way. "Even with the simplest of subject matter, if you create many versions, over and over, it gives your work stength, a backbone, if you will, that will allow you to see the great art among your own work." So, even though this is a childrens book, it is worth buying, because it represents a value that can be meaningful to adults. And it's a fine tale as well.