7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wuv, September 17, 2008
This review is from: Katie Loves the Kittens (Hardcover)
The secret to author popularity lies in building a faithful fan base. If you've written/illustrated something particularly good in the past then odds are that if you continue to create high-quality books you will garner a lot of fans in the process. Now John Himmelman is an interesting case. At first he does all these nature-based books with titles like
A Pill Bug's Life and
Discovering Moths. That's nice and all, but then one year he suddenly breaks out of the nature-based mold and creates something wholly new and original. If you have not read
Chickens to the Rescue then you are missing out. A madcap free-for-all involving chickens, football helmets, and renegade ducks, it was with this particular book that I fell head over heels in love with Himmelman's style. Now he has a new picture book out that combines the sheer frenzy of Chickens with a truly believable and touching storyline. Katie Loves the Kittens is a very interesting look at how unrestrained passion can turn out to be more harmful than helpful, particularly when it comes to kittens.
When Katie the dog sees that her mistress Sara Ann has brought home three kittens it is without a doubt, "the most exciting day in Katie's whole life!" The problem with Katie is that she's a bit of a howler. She just takes one gander at the little kittens and she can't help but howl and chase them in her glee. Funny thing about kittens though. They're not much for the whole howling/chasing bit. Sara Ann reprimands Katie for her behavior but really it's not entirely her fault. All she wants is to make the kittens happy, yet every time she gets excited kittens go flying and Katie goes to her dog pillow, deeply sad. The final straw comes when Katie discovers that she has accidentally eaten the kittens' food. In misery she climbs into her bed with the intent of staying there all day. Yet when she wakes up, who should be on top of her asleep but the kittens themselves! Exhibiting restraint she has never known before, Katie prevents herself from howling and chasing and, at last, she and the kittens are friends.
No twist ending here. The book is a seemingly simple story, and yet when I wrack my brain I can't think of any picture book that has done this story (with dogs and cats) before. It's kind of a play on tales like
Duncan & Dolores by Barbara Samuels or
Come Back, Cat by Joan Nodset where a child loves a feline too much and has to learn restraint in order to gain its love and trust. Using a dog as a kind of kid surrogate is even better, though. Dogs are notorious for needing constant supervision and training for behavior. The fact that Katie's chaos is caused out of love just gives the book the extra added kick it needs.
Maybe it's the three-year-old in me, but there is nothing finer in this world that watching characters explode off a page over, under, around, and through. Tumbling, tossing, flying, it's all wonderful. One of the things I loved about Chickens to the Rescue was how well Himmelman was able to convey flying-chicken pandemonium, with some of the fowls upside down and backwards in the midst of their feathered helpfulness. Though the art in this book seems less precise than that found in something like Chickens, Katie's appearance implies that she is based on a real-life counterpart. There's something particularly familiar about her movements, attitude, and full-fledged love. She's even better when she's depressed. As she becomes sadder and sadder, about the point she's hiding under her doggie pillow with only her nose poking out, you know that resolution cannot be far off. And I love how she wags so quickly that it looks more like a tail under a strobe light than an actual wagging appendage at times. In the earlier moments of the book when she simply cannot get it under control, the shaking of the tale extends through Katie's whole body, causing her to shiver and shake with barely restrained excitement. Anyone who has ever seen a dog on the verge of running and pouncing will recognize the look.
It's a pretty simple book, but I get a lot of young kids in my library who just want "doggy" or "kitty" books. This story fulfills both needs and happens to be cute as a bug's ear to boot. Cat lovers and dog lovers unite. It looks as if we've finally found a title to meet your mutual needs. Controlled chaos has never been so cute.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the one!, February 27, 2010
This review is from: Katie Loves the Kittens (Hardcover)
At every book fair I find a hit book! This time, this February, the BIG hit is "Katie Loves the Kittens!" Oh--my--goodness!! Katie is the most adorable dog! Look at that cover! Katie appears to be chasing the kittens, but not so, oh no! Katie LOVES those kittens. In fact, she is so excited to have them in her house that she must, no MUST howl her approval. Of course, that howl reaches the mythic levels, the archetypal levels for those kitties--the archetypal level of the BEAST! They are terrified! Katie the BEAST!
Simply put, the above paragraph tries to show the reactions of two groups of critters upon contact with each other: Katie the fat, happy, established dog and three little kittens, newly adopted, newly taken from their mom. Three little kittens a bit fearful, a bit timid, but at least with each other. Safe, so to speak--UNTIL Katie howls at them. Yikes!
Oh, I could go on and on simply relaying the reaction of the kitties and the dog upon meeting each other. John Himmelman, an illustrator new to this librarian, has become a big hit with both students and mothers. During the week of book fair I read this book to two groups of students, who in their turn, wanted to share the book with their friends. If a mother asked for a "good" book to buy, I showed this book. It sold out! Everyone fell in love with Katie and the kittens!
If you have ever seen a comedian imitating the difference between dogs and cats, you know that they show a dog being so excited, tail a-wagging, tongue a-licking, playing the I'm-so-glad-to-see-you routine dogs use to greet their humans. On the other hand, a cat will sway its body a bit for some lovely petting, but act as if she is saying, "Yo, Human. Aren't you glad to see me?" So, keeping the dog scenario in mind, please open the book to "Katie Loves the Kittens."
There's Sara Ann, the human, showing the three unaware kittens to Katie, who already is on her hind legs, tail wagging, yes, already so excited. "As soon as she saw them, she howled, 'AROOOOO! AROOOOOO!' She always howled like that when she was very happy!" The next page shows the sleepy kitties now WIDE AWAKE and scrambling in all directions: climbing a lampshade, the curtains, scurrying to get under a table.
Sara Ann gathers up her terrified kitties, now snuggled in her arms, safely away from the beast. Their little expressions are so apropos and so pertinent! One is clinging in abject fear to Sara Ann, one is horrified, the third is hilarious--scowling indignantly (now that she is safely ensconced in the human's arms). There's Katie, banished to her bed, and ever so sad. "She did not want to scare the kittens."
And so the book goes, one episode after another, showing poor guileless Katie, trying to get close to the kitties, being punished for scaring them. I think the funniest is the time she crawls in the open window in the dead of night just to get a sniff of them, just to be near the sleeping kitties and Sara Ann. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to a joyfully howling dog!
Spoiler alert:
After several times being returned to her bed, her island of punishment, her island of shame and embarrassment, Katie wakes up to find the three kitties asleep--on top of her. What joy! What bliss! She wants to show that joy by howling and running--but! She doesn't. She even licks the kitties and earns praise from Sara Ann.
I'm pretty sure Katie is a Jack Russell terrier, making her self-control all that much more impressive!
I cannot praise Himmelman enough for capturing such canine and feline emotions, putting the two animals together in such a delightful, joyous story! Personally, my heart is glad -- and the librarian who lives in my skull? She is thrilled to find such an excellent book to share with students for a long time to come!
Did I forget the artwork? Together, we looked at the cover. What you see there is what you get inside. The art is fairly simple, but nothing more is needed in conveying this sweet story.
Personal note: DB, you must add this book to your substitute arsenal! It's just your kind of book!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
sympathetic look at the hard work of impulse control, December 19, 2008
This review is from: Katie Loves the Kittens (Hardcover)
Katie is an adorable little dog who just got 3 feline brothers and sisters. She is very excited to play with them, but her exuberance is over the top and frightening. Katie lands herself in trouble, is misunderstood, and regrets her actions. Eventually she learns to restrain herself and is rewarded with 3 new friends. The situations and emotions in this story are very familiar to preschool aged children and those who spend a lot of time with them. The art is fantastic. The facial expressions of the kittens are priceless, and Katie's little tongue, doing its best to make up for the latest misadventure, is very endearing. I think this is a fantastic book for 4-8 year olds. Entertaining, sympathetic, and an issue near and dear to many this age.
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