Publication Date: 1928
ISBN: 978-0-399-23315-9
Once
upon a time, an elderly couple lived in a seemingly perfect house surrounded by
flowers. One would think they were
happy, but alas, loneliness stands in the way.
The old woman laments to her husband that if they only had a cat, they
could be happy. So he dutifully begins a
long journey in search of the perfect cat.
He comes to a hill “which was quite covered with cats” and cannot choose
just one, as each and every cat is perfect.
He arrives home, with millions of cats in tow, causing alarm as the old
woman does not know how they will feed and care for them all. She asks the cats to decide which one is the
perfect cat to stay and live with them. Naturally, every
cat thinks it is the prettiest and most perfect, so a fight breaks out as each defends its title of prettiest cat. The old couple runs inside to hide from the commotion,
until the chaos dies down and all of the cats are gone, save one….a humble
little thing who did not tout his virtues and was therefore not a threat to the
other cats. The old man and woman take
him home and lovingly bathe, brush, and feed the cat. As he grows and becomes a beloved member of
the household, they are most decided that he is, indeed, the prettiest cat of
them all.
This
nearly 100 year old book will surely still capture the attention of children
today, as it portrays the modern day problem of choosing just one of many
perfect pets. They will be enchanted by
the repetitive chorus of “hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and
billions and trillions of cats” as the cats march home with the man. They will delight in the drawings of the
homely cat tumbling over his food dish in a series of photos that show him
eating and growing until he becomes a plump and satisfied little cat. Though the text is old, the language is child
friendly and can be read by primary-aged children. The illustrations are cleanly drawn in black
and white, with crisp lines and intricate details, such as portraits of a young
bride and groom smiling down on the old couple as they enjoy cake and coffee in
their rocking chairs, while the kitten plays with a ball of yarn at their feet. There is a fairy-tale quality to the
drawings, as the country setting is pristine, the cats have sweet facial
expressions, and the little old man looks a bit like a gnome with his long
beard and head cap.
This
book is bound to attract cat lovers and would function well as an interactive
read-aloud for second language or low-language learners. It won the Newbery Honor in 1929 and was the
first of its kind to feature an illustration that stretched across two
pages. Ga’g designed the illustration
this way so it would “urge the reader on to the next page” (Wanda Gag House, n.d.).
Awards and Recognition:
- Newbery Honor, 1929
- Amazon rating: 4.7/5
- Goodreads rating: 4.09/5
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