The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (Hebrew) Chatul Taalul Chozer

This translation is really superb. In many ways, I find that the humor and irony of the book come across better in the Hebrew than in the original English. It's hard to believe that such intricate rhyming and verse as that of a Dr. Suess book could be replicated in another language, but my praise is no exaggeration. The rhyming in Hebrew is perfect - in some ways more poetic - and very true to ordinary conversational Hebrew. There is no awkwardness. For instance, the phrase "mother's white dress" becomes "simlah chadasha shel ima," which has more common vowelization than the English. The book also fits beautifully into Israeli culture, which can be terse and brusque, as Israelis are both accustomed to having guests and making themselves at home in other people's spaces, not unlike Dr. Suess' fictional cat. The pictures are essentially unchanged except that the English letters on the hats of the helper cats have been changed to Hebrew letters, and this leads to a slight disconnect because of the difference in the number of letters in the Hebrew and English alphabets. But, that is a very slight detail which will be lost on many readers. This book is a great way to motivate children to learn Hebrew. Highly recommended and I have already purchased a copy for another family member.