Gág, Wanda. 1928. Millions of Cats. New York, NY: Penguin Group. ISBN 9780399233159
PLOT SUMMARY
An endearing story about a lonely old man and old woman. The old man ventures out to find a sweet, pretty cat for his wife but instead finds an entire field of cats. There are too many to choose from so he brings them all home! Unable to keep them all or to choose one from the billions of cats, the old couple allow the cats to decide which is the “prettiest."
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Known as one of America’s first picture books and a rare picture book recipient of the Newbery Honor, Millions of Cats paved the way for modern picture books. The basic black and white drawings and hand written text add character and interest to the simple story line while maintaining its sincerity. Gág’s seminal use of the double-page for carrying out illustration and text within the book has been adopted by many contemporary authors and illustrators. Children will enjoy the rhythmic, repetitive refrain in the story -“hundreds of cats, thousands of cat, millions and billions and trillions of cats.”
REVIEW EXCERPTS
1958 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (posthumous)
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL – “One Hundred Books that Shaped the Century”
THE NEW YORK TIMES – “A perennial favorite.”
CONNECTIONS
*Teach children the recurring refrain in the book and have them join in when reading aloud.
*Children can draw and describe (verbally or written) the cat they find the “prettiest.”
*Other award winning books by Wanda Gág:
Gág, Wanda. Nothing at All. ISBN 0816644187
Gág, Wanda. ABC Bunny. ISBN 0698114388
*Also see recipients of the Wanda Gág Book Award here.
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