The Cat in the Hat
A manic eight-foot-tall cat cons its way into our narrator’s home and, through rhyming and whimsey, reveals to young readers how little dominion they have over their lives, and that any illusion of security is fleeting.
Strega Nona
Don’t let your tot be the last to gain an intimate knowledge of hubris! Strega Nona, village healer and spaghetti magician, briefly entrusts her assistant, Big Anthony, with the tools to her trade. Big Anthony’s pride is limitless, his fate inevitable, his spaghetti uncontrollable. In a child’s first introduction to poetic justice, our hapless antihero is forced to eat his way into atonement.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
In this archetypal Hero’s Journey, our eponymous caterpillar follows his unquenchable hunger from page to page, propelled by an unfettered desire to consume. Just when all seems lost, we witness the protagonist’s transformation, a metamorphosis the seeds of which an astute reader will realize were planted on page one.
The Snowy Day
Watch as a young boy experiences the awe of his first snowfall. Follow him as he discovers all of snow’s various properties. Witness as he places a snowball in his pocket “for later” and feel his ultimate sorrow when he confronts the transient nature of all life. Though snow may fall anew, Peter will never be the same again.
Sheep in a Jeep
Five sheep try to transcend the limits of their ability and drive a jeep. Through repeated failures, they at last reach a place of acceptance: they will never control the vehicle, nor will they ever really control the confines of their own circumstances. There is freedom in their realization, and joy.
Goodnight Moon
A young rabbit names the objects in his vicinity, perhaps in a futile attempt to ward off the encroaching darkness. Some of these items are familiar while others approach the absurd; the bowlful of mush unsettles the reader while the comb and brush gound us back into reality. In an astonishing climax, the narrator at last peers directly into the abyss, wishing “nobody” a good night.