Fat Cat: A Danish Folktale [Hardcover]

Margaret Read MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Have you ever heard the saying, Your eyes are bigger than your stomach? Well, Cat's stomach is bigger than a lot of things. He is always hungry, and living with culinary-inclined Mouse, who makes thirty-five pies in one day, just makes it worse. Fat Cat swallows everything in sight, including the washlady and her washtub, a troop of soldiers and their swords, even a king and his elephant! But when Cat swallows Mouse and her sewing basket, that's the last straw. Tiny Mouse cuts to the heart of ....

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 4-MacDonald uses short, rhythmic sentences and repeated refrains to keep this tale of a greedy cat that lives with a mouse flowing. One day, he eats 35 pies. Then with a "slip slop, sluuurp," he proceeds to eat a wash lady and her laundry, some soldiers and their swords, the king and his elephant, and, finally, the mouse and her sewing supplies. Of course, Mouse cuts her way out and the others follow. After that, Cat eats more sparingly and others treat him with respect. Paschkis's folklike artwork has an open, uncluttered look. Individual objects curve along and around the pages on white backgrounds, lending focus to the feline as he becomes progressively larger after devouring each new morsel. One exception to this pattern is the spread that shows everything in the cat's stomach, all on a black background. It's dark in there! A page of notes explains the source of this story. Pair it with Jack Kent's The Fat Cat (Scholastic, 1971), a more humorous version, to show how different illustrated retellings can be.

Kathleen Simonetta, Indian Trails Public Library District, Wheeling, IL

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 4-8. A Danish folktale about a greedy cat is retold in this striking picture book. Cat and Mouse are friends, but Cat has a voracious appetite, especially for anyone who dares to call him fat. After swallowing a washerwoman, a king and his elephant, and a company of soldiers, he swallows Mouse. By cutting a hole in cat's belly, Mouse cleverly rescues the group. The book's huge, bright illustrations are glorious. As the cat grows fatter, he takes up larger and larger portions of the double-page spreads until only his bright orange mouth and pink tongue are visible. The large, funny illustrations will carry well for a bigger crowd and, combined with refrain that invites chanting along, make this a surefire hit for reading aloud. Helen Rosenberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: August House (December 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874836166
• ISBN-13: 978-0874836165
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,065,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must" for lovers of children's literature!, October 24, 2006

By 

R. G. Fremin (Carrollton, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fat Cat: A Danish Folktale (Hardcover)

What a terrific story! I first encountered this version of a popular folk motif at my public library. I read this book to the children in my small home daycare; we were immediately hooked. The story is just the right length for preschoolers, and is fun to read aloud. I love taking on the voice of the insatiable cat and the children chime right in. Readers of children's literature will recognize the similarities between Fat Cat and another of our favorites, "The Clay Pot Boy" (Cynthia Jameson and Arnold Lobel). This morning at breakfast, I was reminded of the fat cat and said aloud, "I may be fat. . .", to which the children replied, "but I'm still a hungry cat." I have to get my own copy. . .today!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love That Fat Cat!, January 21, 2005

By 

Kat Corbett, author of the DanceFutures series (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fat Cat: A Danish Folktale (Hardcover)

I *love* this book! I tutor early readers, and it will be perfect as a read-aloud when we tackle words built with _at--fat, cat, mat, sat, rat, bat, etc. Of course the kids will also love the SLIP, SLOP, SLUUURP refrain, and especially the BURP! And I enjoy that the cat reminds me of a certain rotund member of my own cat family. :-)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars super, April 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Fat Cat: A Danish Folktale (Hardcover)

Our kids loved this book! It is filled with catchy and simple phrases which our kids could not help but repeat throughout the day. The theme is quite humorous, making this story very enjoyable to read again and again. As well, it conveys a good moral about greed!