1.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gág, Wanda. Millions of Cats. New
York: Penguin Young Readers Group, 1952. ISBN-13: 978-0-399-23315-9
2.
PLOT SUMMARY
An old man and an old woman live together in a lovely
house, but they are lonely. The old woman decides that having a cat will chase
her loneliness away. The old man sets off to find her a cat. He travels over
many hills and through valleys until he finds a hill covered with cats. Unable
to pick out the prettiest, he brings all the cats with him stopping along the
way to let the cats drink a pond dry and eat the grass covering a hill. When he
arrives home will all those cats, the old woman tells him that they will not be
able to feed all the cats. They allow the cats to decide which one is the
prettiest. The couple rushes inside while the cats bite and scratch each other.
Only one, scraggly cat is left at the end of the fight. It grew plump and became
the prettiest cat.
3.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The target audience is children ages 2 years to 5
years in preschool to kindergarten. They will be mesmerized, amused, engaged,
and will talk about all those cats as they echo the rhythmic phrase, “hundreds
of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats”. The
black pen illustrations are a folk art style across a double paged layout which
expresses the movement of the story.
You will be swept away by the old man trekking across
the countryside seeking a pretty cat. It is comical as the cats follow him home
and tell him they are thirsty and hungry. The story makes a turn when the cats
fight and the reader is shocked by the horrific idea that the cats may have
eaten each other. At this point in the story, I am feeling that this sounds rather gruesome. However, the story does not dwell on this moment but moves to the
discovery of one, scruffy kitten. The elderly couple show it kindness, and it
grows into a beautiful cat.
The story evokes emotion for the lonely couple,
homeless cats, and the sad, little kitten. With the happiness of the couple and
the little kitten, the fate of the other cats is forgotten.
The illustrations evoked delight from the second grade children as the man traveled with the cats across the hills. "Ooohs" and "Ahhhs" is what I heard as I read. This was the first time I read this classic, and I appreciated how it brought the children together in conversation.
The illustrations evoked delight from the second grade children as the man traveled with the cats across the hills. "Ooohs" and "Ahhhs" is what I heard as I read. This was the first time I read this classic, and I appreciated how it brought the children together in conversation.
4.
REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Newbery Medal Nomination 1929
Philadelphia Lithograph Show First Prize Winner 1930
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award Winner 1958
“Ahh! That is how I take care of my cats.” –From a
Second Grader
“That book was funny!” –From a Second Grader
5.
CONNECTIONS
Children will compare story variants using, The Ugly
Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson or The Most Wonderful Egg in the World by
Heime Heine.
A guest speaker from an animal shelter or veterinary
clinic will demonstrate how to care for animals.
Discuss synonyms for the word, quarrel and how the
meaning could change the outcome of the story.
Make a math connection looking at place value for
hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, trillions.
