The Cat in the Hat Bronze Installed at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital—October 1, 2009

from left: Claire Stadler, Kathryn Brown, Ann Carell, Julie Stadler and Edie Johnson. Photo: Joe Howell Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Grandparents, parents, and children alike know well the beloved characters of Dr. Seuss; he’s practically synonymous with childhood in America. As one of the finest illustrators and authors there ever was, Dr. Seuss, or rather the late Theodor Geisel, just hit the 500-million-books-sold mark. Wow! And now, Nashville has its own reason to celebrate Dr. Seuss. A life-size bronze of The Cat in the Hat was permanently installed at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. This wonderful sculpture is a memorial to the late Mr. Carell from the Carell family and a great inspiration to the patients at the hospital.

Daughter Julie Stadler shared, “We thought long and hard about where to place The Cat in the Hat statue. The hospital is full of wonderful art, because my dad wanted it to be a place where children could find joy as well as healing. In that spirit, we wanted this sculpture to have a home that felt just right. It seemed perfect that its home should be on ‘Main Street,’ and it’s in the middle of the ‘street.’ Children can walk around The Cat in the Hat, see him up close, touch him, because the statue is intentionally at their level. That’s exactly what my dad would have wanted. It is a great way to celebrate his life and what this hospital meant to him.”

Curator to the Dr. Seuss Enterprises Estate, Bill Dreyer, was an honorary guest at the unveiling, attending from San Diego.