Book Review - Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gag, Wanda. (2024). Millions of cats. Neeland Media LLC. ISBN: 9781774646106

2. PLOT SUMMARY
In the first picture book written by an American author, Wanda Gag tells the story of an old woman who longed for a cat, so her husband set out on a journey to find the prettiest one just for her. He ended up with more cats than they could handle, and the cats ended up turning on each other. In the aftermath, they found one scrawny kitten that they fed and nurtured back to health. That kitten ended up turning into the prettiest cat of them all.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Gag told the cautionary tale of what could go wrong when having an over abundance of one thing. The old man in the story kept trying to find the prettiest cat, but ended up with "hundreds, thousands, billions, millions, and trillions" of them. Like in most tales of warning, the consequences at the end were that all of the pretty cats killed each other leaving one scraggly kitten alive. However, the old couple put love and care into that kitten and it grew up to be what they deemed as the prettiest cat of them all. The story teaches multiple lessons such as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, putting one's own love into something makes it more meaningful, and to not judge something by what's on the outside. 

Gag's repetitive use of "hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats" created a rhythmic cadence that kept the reader and listener engaged. The pictures provided beautiful detail as well even if they were in black and white. The reader could still see that the "pretty" cats were fluffy and healthy looking while the scrawny cat looked more unkempt. Lastly, when there were an infinite number of cats, the pictures had the illusion that the cats continued on forever. As the old man was collecting more and more cats, they got smaller and smaller, highlighting just how many he had been gathering. 

While Gag's story is one of the older ones, it's engaging storyline still makes it relevant today. 

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Newbery Honor Award
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award

5. CONNECTIONS
*A folktale that teaches valuable life lessons.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review - Knight Owl by Christopher Denise

 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Denise, Christopher. (2022). Knight Owl . Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 9780316310628 2. PLOT SUMMARY In this story a little owl has dreams of becoming a knight. When knights start disappearing off the castle wall, the little owl signs up to join the guild. He's not the strongest, but he excelled as a student which earns him a post on the Knight's Night Watch. One night, he encounters a hungry dragon and, b eing clever, he persuades the dragon to have some  pizza instead of the owl himself for dinner. The  little owl befriended the dragon, the  disappearances stop, and he earns a great many friends from his  efforts. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Christopher Denise tells a story of overcoming obstacles and never giving up on personal dreams. The story of this little owl longing to be a knight teaches perseverance, courage, and friendship. The main character   saw an opportunity to make his dreams come true, and even though it was difficult at tim...
Read more

Book Review - The Three Little Wolves and The Big Bad Pig

  BIBLIOGRAPHY Trivizas, Eugene. (1993). THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG. Ill. by Helen Oxenbury. Margaret K. McElderry Books an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. ISBN: 9780689815287 PLOT SUMMARY In this version of the classic tale of The Three Little Pigs, there are three little wolves trying to stop a big bad big pig from blowing down their house. Following the classic storyline, they build three houses, but each one is foiled by the pig. They start with brick, move to concrete, and finally metal, but on each one the pig finds a way to demolish it. The last house the three wolves build is made of flowers and when the pig smells the flowers, he decides he wants to become the big “good” pig. The story ends with the wolves and the pig becoming friends. CRITICAL ANALYSIS The Three Little Wolves and The Big Bad Pig stays true to some elements of the original fable, but diverges from the very beginning. The species swapping creates an interes...
Read more

Book Review - The Lion & The Mouse

  BIBLIOGRAPHY Pinkney, Jerry. (2009). THE LION & THE MOUSE. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN: 9780316013567 PLOT SUMMARY The Lion & the Mouse is an Aesop’s fable retold in pictures. In the book, a little mouse escapes death twice, once by skill and the second by the kindness of a natural predator, a lion. After the lion lets the mouse go, he accidentally springs a trap set up by hunters and gets caught. The mouse hears his distress and chews through the rope to cut him free, forming an unlikely friendship in the process. CRITICAL ANALYSIS The pictures really do paint the story in this retelling of a classic fable. There are very minimal words used throughout the book. The only details he gives through words are the sounds of various animals: the “screech” and “who” of an owl, the “roar” and “grrr” of a lion, the “squeak” and “scratch” of a mouse, and the “putt, putt, putt” of a car driving through the safari. These sparsely used onomatopoeias enhance the apprehens...
Read more