4,717 books
—
6,097 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” as Want to Read:
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
by
Celebrate the 75th birthday of this classic treatise on bullying by Dr. Seuss with our new foil-covered, color-enhanced Anniversary Edition!
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins is the story of a young peasant 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 ...more
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins is the story of a young peasant 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 ...more
Hardcover, 75th Anniversary Edition, 56 pages
Published
December 9th 1989
by Random House Books for Young Readers
(first published September 1st 1938)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins

When we laughed and laughed along with Doctor Seuss in The 500 Hats, after it was published in the post-war years, I think I always confused it with The Sorceror’s Apprentice.
Remember that Disney Halloween clip from Fantasia?
Same fantastic comically nightmarish sort of premise, I guess...
My mother, the town librarian, was WAY ahead of the rest of our village in the mid-1950’s.
Especially when it came to the Seuss books.
She got so she could sniff out a potential kid’s literary masterpiece after ...more
Remember that Disney Halloween clip from Fantasia?
Same fantastic comically nightmarish sort of premise, I guess...
My mother, the town librarian, was WAY ahead of the rest of our village in the mid-1950’s.
Especially when it came to the Seuss books.
She got so she could sniff out a potential kid’s literary masterpiece after ...more

Came across a review of this Dr. Seuss book that I had never seen before. I didn't expect to find an unfamiliar Dr. Seuss, so I took a few moments (which was all I had to spare) and read it. It is an early work and Seusslike, but more in the form or a traditional fairytale than his books usually are. What's not to enjoy if Theodore is involved? I have loved every word he has put to paper.
So, a bit of fun in an otherwise not much fun day. ...more
So, a bit of fun in an otherwise not much fun day. ...more
![[Shai] Bibliophage](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1517936499p2/11854153.jpg)
I was able to read the sequel before this book, so I was expecting that this could be better. I prefer the sequel than this, but I still enjoyed the story. It's just that I don't think that I found any lesson after reading it.
...more


“The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” is one of Dr. Seuss’ earlier books as it is not written in the rhyming text that Dr. Seuss has been well known for. “The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins” is about a young boy named Bartholomew Cubbins who discovers that every time he takes a hat off his head, a new one sprouts up on his head, which cause trouble for him when the king finds out about it. This book may be a bit too dark for smaller children, but older children will definitely enjoy this class ...more

No rhyming? No made up words? How very un-Dr. Seuss like! It definitely wasn't what I normally think of when I think Dr. Seuss, but that was okay with me. It was a humorous story and I liked it quite a bit.
...more

Since I was 6, just learning to read on my own and going through my Dr. Suess phase, this has been my favorite Dr. Seuss story. What didn't occur to me then, that occurs to me now, is that this is one of Dr. Seuss's only prose works. It does not have Dr. Seuss's easily parodied meter or a rhyme scheme.
I don't know what the meaning of the story is. If it has an overall meaning, its not nearly as easy to tease out as so many of Seuss's openly allegorical and more famous tales. Perhaps that's part ...more
I don't know what the meaning of the story is. If it has an overall meaning, its not nearly as easy to tease out as so many of Seuss's openly allegorical and more famous tales. Perhaps that's part ...more

Dr. Seuss wasn't a great poet, but he had a way with words and told a good story, usually with a moral. We had this book when I was young. I like to think the good doctor influenced my poetry writing. Here is my ode to him:
ODE TO DR. SEUSS
by Alan Cook
In the whimsical world of beloved Dr. Seuss
Live an elephant (faithful), a big-hearted moose,
And creatures, the wildest that you ever saw,
A grinch with a heart that's three sizes too small,
A bustard, a lorax (he speaks for the trees),
And prejudiced s ...more
ODE TO DR. SEUSS
by Alan Cook
In the whimsical world of beloved Dr. Seuss
Live an elephant (faithful), a big-hearted moose,
And creatures, the wildest that you ever saw,
A grinch with a heart that's three sizes too small,
A bustard, a lorax (he speaks for the trees),
And prejudiced s ...more

Bartholomew Cubbins lives on a farm. He looks across the land to the castle and feels very small. King Derwin lives in the castle and looks down toward the farms. He feels mighty important. One day Bartholomew is walking from his farm to the town to sell cranberries. The king with his trumpeters and King's Own Guard are racing through town on a royal precession. King Derwin stops the precessional when he see Bartholomew with his hat still on. The king becomes angry and demands Bartholomew Cubbin
...more

I have been dreading to read this book not because of the plot but for the mere fact that it is a very long book considering that its a children illustrated books. It surprises me that even though it is relatively a short book compare to an adult novel, it feels the same as to reading a 500-paged book. Luckily I am fortunate enough that this was not a bad book but not a typical Dr. Seuss book.
I have to warn everyone that since this one of Dr. Seuss earliest works, it lacks the usual creative met ...more
I have to warn everyone that since this one of Dr. Seuss earliest works, it lacks the usual creative met ...more

My students found this book morbid and boring.
"The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins is the story of a young peasant and his unjust treatment at the hands of King Derwin." ...more
"The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins is the story of a young peasant and his unjust treatment at the hands of King Derwin." ...more

At first when I saw this Dr Seuss book WASN'T a rhyming book I thought that I wasn't going to like it, but it is a funny little story. A power-mad King who demands a boy takes he hat off when in the presence of a powerful man as he, the problem is taking of your hat is not as easy as you'd think it would be. The illustrations are very nice too, all shades of black and grey with the bright red hat standing out. One of Dr Seuss's more interesting and less insane books.
...more

In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday and the Read Aloud America program, I wanted to find one of his books we hadn't read yet.
I checked Goodreads and realized that we still had several more to read. So I borrowed a few of them from our local library and we chose this one tonight.
This story is different from what we've come to expect from the good doctor. The narrative is long and it doesn't rhyme. It's not filled with fantastic, crazy creatures. It's actually one of the most straightforward stories ...more
I checked Goodreads and realized that we still had several more to read. So I borrowed a few of them from our local library and we chose this one tonight.
This story is different from what we've come to expect from the good doctor. The narrative is long and it doesn't rhyme. It's not filled with fantastic, crazy creatures. It's actually one of the most straightforward stories ...more

Fun! I may have read this one when I was young, but I didn't remember most of the details - except maybe when the hats started getting fancier with each one. I seemed to remember that.
I wanted an explanation for why Bartholomew suddenly couldn't take off his hat, but I did like that it was brought up again in the end, that no one "could ever explain how the strange thing had happened. They only could say it just 'happened to happen' and was not very likely to happen again."
This is one of the lo ...more
I wanted an explanation for why Bartholomew suddenly couldn't take off his hat, but I did like that it was brought up again in the end, that no one "could ever explain how the strange thing had happened. They only could say it just 'happened to happen' and was not very likely to happen again."
This is one of the lo ...more

*Review from my 8 year old* So, I really like the part when the King said, "Young man, march down to the dungeon and tell the executioner to chop off your head." Then, Bartholomew had to take off his hats to get his head chopped off, but he has 500 hats on so he can't. Then, he went over to the King and said, "I have to not have a hat on to get my head chopped off."
It was a good book.
...more
It was a good book.
...more

I read this children book at the age of 24. Quite late, but I'm not from US. I first heard about Dr. Seuss, when I become consciously intrested in American literature and culture. Why I decided to read book for children? Because I heard that his books cause, that quite a lot of children were fond of reading. The final two reasons to read this book were that I found downloadable version of book (it wasn't published in Poland) and curiosity. I looked for the answer why Jared Leto directed his musi
...more

This was one of the first Dr. Seuss books I ever read, and it was a delight to re-read it. It's not in the well-known rhyming format we're accustomed to with Dr. Seuss, but it is full of wit, great pictures, and interesting characters.
Feb 2019 ... I hadn't read this book for quite a while, but working in the library I decided to share some of my favorite Dr. Seuss. This one, unlike most of his books, does NOT rhyme ... and I'm not really sure there's a "hidden message", either, as in Green Eggs ...more
Feb 2019 ... I hadn't read this book for quite a while, but working in the library I decided to share some of my favorite Dr. Seuss. This one, unlike most of his books, does NOT rhyme ... and I'm not really sure there's a "hidden message", either, as in Green Eggs ...more

Jan 03, 2012
Samantha
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
ANY and EVERY one
Recommended to Samantha by:
Alexandria King
I simply ADORE this book. Bartholomew just can't seem to catch a break! He takes his hat off in the presence of the king only to be taken to the castle for not doing so. What is up with that? Could it possibly be the fact that he just can't take off his hat? OR is it because one keeps appearing underneath every one he takes off. The hats are so pretty and they keep getting more & more eye-catching. One of my favorite Dr. Seuss books ever!!! =)
...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

A great little story about a boy with a hat he can't remove until...
I enjoyed this story; it felt very much of its day. The illustrations were nice and there was hardly any rhyming. What rhyming there was I couldn't tell if it was accidental or not.
...more
I enjoyed this story; it felt very much of its day. The illustrations were nice and there was hardly any rhyming. What rhyming there was I couldn't tell if it was accidental or not.
...more

3.5
Cute story. But I'm not really impressed. ...more
Cute story. But I'm not really impressed. ...more

The 500 hats of bartholomew cubbins was written by Dr.seuss. In the first bartholomew cubbin don’t have 500 hats, they have only one hat which belongs to father’s father’s father oldest hat in the kingdom of Didd. The kingdom of Didd Is on a top of a mountain and ruled by king derwin .Far off in the canberry bog, stood the hut of the cubbins family in the down of the mountain. The view to upside made the bartholomew cubbins small.one day bartholomew went to the market and came the king and all p
...more

I liked this book, it was comedy. In this fictional story, a small child walks through the lanes of kingdom. Subsequently, king comes there and "hats off to king" is announced. He does so yet king is angry with him as he sees another hat on his head. The boy named Bartholomew, tries to remove another hat too but more and more hats are seen on his head.....
One by one, many try to remove the hat but all in vain. At last, after removing one hat by another while getting near to his death, Bartholome ...more
One by one, many try to remove the hat but all in vain. At last, after removing one hat by another while getting near to his death, Bartholome ...more

"Be calm, my Sire, and have to no fears. The hat will come off in ten short years."
Not Typical Dr. Seuss
None of the adults know what to do, and Bartholomew makes important people very perplexed. Bartholomew stays calm through the whole story, in full control of his emotions, and does everything the king tells him to do. There is a storyline within this story because of bratty Grand Duke Wilfred who keeps wanting to push Bartholomew off the top of the castle. At the end of the story, the prin ...more
Not Typical Dr. Seuss
None of the adults know what to do, and Bartholomew makes important people very perplexed. Bartholomew stays calm through the whole story, in full control of his emotions, and does everything the king tells him to do. There is a storyline within this story because of bratty Grand Duke Wilfred who keeps wanting to push Bartholomew off the top of the castle. At the end of the story, the prin ...more

The book was really awesome. It was magical and the best character according to me is Bartholomew Cubbins. He was very brave and had lots of courage to face the challenges. I love this book.
Actually I am not able to add my own gmail_id in this mobile phone otherwise my Google Classroom account will not be functional (which is configured on my father's account). So consider this review as my personal review and kindly do the needful for Wlaret book reading competition.
Thanks and Regards
Kanav Saro ...more
Actually I am not able to add my own gmail_id in this mobile phone otherwise my Google Classroom account will not be functional (which is configured on my father's account). So consider this review as my personal review and kindly do the needful for Wlaret book reading competition.
Thanks and Regards
Kanav Saro ...more

The 500 hats of Bartholomew cubbins is written by Dr. Seuss. It is the story of Bartholomew cubbins who has a red hat with a feather on the top. It was his father's father's father hat . King Derwin goes mad when he see that that hat is not going. He advised so many people in his court to take off his hat but the same thing happened -when you take one hat there is still another hat on his head. Suddenly sir Alaric recognised that each hat was becoming fancier than before. And the last hat that i
...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Seuss Lovers: The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins | 1 | 3 | Dec 06, 2012 07:17PM |
Theodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, MA. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both carto
...more
Related Articles
Santa Claus has his work cut out for him this year. We asked on Facebook and Twitter: What fictional book thing do you want for Christmas? Here...
67 likes · 20 comments
4 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“But neither Bartholomew Cubbins, nor King Derwin himself, nor anyone else in the Kingdom of Didd could ever explain how the strange thing happened. They could only say it just "happened to happen" and was not very likely to happen again.”
—
4 likes
More quotes…