COEUR d'ALENE - That lanky mischievous feline with the striped stovepipe hat, big red bow and unique way with words is making a special appearance in area schools this week.

Students throughout the region participated Tuesday in birthday celebrations honoring the late children's book author, Dr. Seuss, creator of "The Cat in the Hat."

In costume as The Cat, Bryan Elementary School Principal Joel Palmer read the book to students as they ate breakfast - cereal with milk from green cartons and bright green quiches made of scrambled eggs, ham and a heavy dose of food-coloring.

"He's probably the most celebrated author in elementary school," Palmer said.

The special breakfast recognizing another of Seuss's books, "Green Eggs and Ham," was served at schools throughout the Coeur d'Alene district. The lunchtime follow-up was a hot "roast beast" sandwich, a reference to the holiday meal in another Seuss story, "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas."

Theodor (Dr. Seuss) Geisel died in 1991, leaving behind a series of popular books aimed at early readers, beginning in 1957 with the first publication of "The Cat in the Hat."

Natasza Springer, 9, said the book about the cat is her favorite, "mainly because it's such a fun book."

The story features two children stuck in the house on a rainy day. They receive an unexpected visit from the havoc-wreaking, top-hatted cat, who invites a pair of blue-haired imps, Thing 1 and Thing 2, into the mix. They create all kinds of chaos as the children and a wide-eyed fish look on.

"My favorite part is probably how worried the fish is," said Natasza.

The third-grade student ate breakfast at Bryan dressed in whiskers, a bow and a homemade signature Seuss cat hat.

"The way that it rhymed made it interesting to kids, and fun," Palmer said. "It plays an important part in beginning reading, and in adults reading to kids."

To this day, Palmer said, students often tell him the book is the first one they ever read.

From an educational, technical standpoint, Palmer said Seuss is exciting for young children to read because he used a limited variety of words, making it easy for kids to identify word families with similar sounds.

A 1954 Life magazine report on illiteracy among America's schoolchildren prompted Geisel's publisher to send the author a list of 400 words children should learn. Geisel slashed the list to 220 words to write "The Cat in the Hat," which became an instant success and a model for his other works in the series: "One Fish Two Fish," "Green Eggs and Ham," "Hop on Pop" and "Fox in Socks."

Since 1998, the birth of Seuss has been celebrated in schools throughout the nation as part of the National Education Association's annual "Read Across America" program.

Some schools are hosting family literacy nights this week, designed to bring parents and children together to celebrate reading. Others have guests from the community coming in during the school day to read aloud to students.

Local businesses and nonprofits have donated books and other items to help raise excitement about reading.