Customer Reviews

Millions of Cats

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

How many of us remember way back in our early childhood, chanting out loud along with our parents, "Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats..." "Millions of Cats" was one of my favorite books when I was very young, and it was one of the first books I bought for my own son when he was in preschool. It's a perennial favorite about a lonely old couple who decided to get a cat for companionship, and ended up collecting every cat extant for miles around. "Cats here, cats there, cats and kittens everywhere"... When the cats fight tooth and claw to decide who's the prettiest, the sole survivor is a scrawny little kitten who hid from the fray, thinking it couldn't possibly be selected anyway. But a little love can do wonders. The old couple decides that out of "millions and billions and trillions of cats", not one was as pretty as this one. An enchanting classic that will be around as long as there are children and grownups who love a good story.

This small book is about an elderly man and woman who wish to have a pet cat. The old man goes off to find a cat and, when he comes to a land filled with cats, he can't decide which to take. They all follow him home and he and his wife have to decide what to do. This book was a 1929 Newbery Honor book (i.e., runner-up to the Medal winner) for best contribution to American children's literature. Wanda Gág (1893-1946) was a well-known illustrator of children's books and had a great impact on children's literature. This is a classic book and should be on the shelf of every serious student of children literature.

Millions of Cats Book Review

Millions of Cats is a funny story by Wanda Ga'g. It is all about an old lady who wants a cat so she sends her husband to get one When he gets
back, he has millions! I liked the part when the cats drink all of the water from the river. When the husband says, "Who is the prettiest?" They all say, "I am". I think that is funny. I liked the pictures too. Find out what cat they get when you read Millions of Cats.

If there were such a thing as a list of desert island books for little ones, this would be on it. A touching, warm tale of an old woman who wants a kitty and her old man who loves all the cats he meets so much that he can't bear to choose, so he ends up choosing all of them. The repetition of the punch line, hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, etc. really thrills the little ones, and somehow the author manages to gloss over the potentially rather gruesome scene at the end where all the cats but one tear themselves to bits fighting over which one is the prettiest. My kids never seemed to react negatively to this scene or be troubled by it. Absolutely wonderful illustrations too.

I'm ashamed to say that prior to a children's literature course I took, I was completely ignorant of the works of Wanda Gag and her elegant, "Millions of Cats" until the ripe old age of 25. As it stands, the book is amazingly timeless, accompanied by beautiful pen and ink drawings illustrating each and every scene. There are plenty of details per page for kids to point out on their own and the words will not tax the average child. The daughter of a Bohemian painter, Gag was a superb artist in her own right. Nowhere else will you find this as evident as in "Millions of Cats". It remains one of the best American classic picture books of all time.

After making a few mistakes, I now buy books for my son that I like. I am the one that ends up reading them out loud time and time again, and so I want them to be interesting and well-written. And of course, I want my toddler to enjoy the stories and pictures. Millions of Cats fulfills all of those criteria; it is without a doubt my favorite book to read my toddler at bedtime.

The story is wonderful: an lonely old man goes to search for a cat companion for himself and his lonely wife, and instead of finding just one cat, he falls for millions. He attempts to bring millions of cats home, but finds that he and his wife haven't the space nor the food for them. He must choose just one, and lets the cats duke it out to find which cat is the best. Predictably, the cats fight themselves right out of the story, and the only cat left is a homely, scraggly kitten. Love from the old couple makes the kitten grow into a lovely cat, and leads the old man to say that although he's seen "millions and billions and trillions of cats," "not one of them was as pretty as this one."

My toddler adores this book, and regularly chants the old man's cat-poem along with me. A true classic -- it belongs on every child's bookshelf.

When I was in elementary school in the 60s, I checked this book out of the library regularly. It was and still is my favorite children's book. It's a fairytale-like story, not unlike the Grimm version of Cinderella wherein the lowliest of creatures is exalted and the prideful are brought down. The book helps children to recognize and value the beauty within. It also helps them to understand the experience of being an "outsider" and being "unnoticed." The illustrations are very idiosyncratic and match the tone of the story perfectly. This book is as memorable as it is timeless.

I'm almost 50, but I remember vividly how this book tickled me when my Dad read it to me night after night when I was 3 - 4, over 45 years ago. How he savored every word and the phase "MILLLIONS and BILLIONS and TRILLIONS of Cats!" The artwork is classic and I'm so glad they've kept the original art deco drawings. The message -- too much stuff is not really a good thing -- is as important now as it was then. I'm ordering 2 more copies for my nephews, who are about 2.

The first time I heard of Wanda Gag, I was helping my father clean out his mother's house after she died. We came upon Millions of Cats in a box of books, and upon seeing the cover, my father starting reciting from memory a book he hadn't seen or read in more than 40 years. To stay with someone that long, to capture the heart of a child tight enough to carry that child into adulthood, speaks volumes about a story, in this case, Millions of Cats. I have since been introduced to Gag's The Funny Thing, my personal favorite, and can only hope that more children grow up on such beautiful, poignant and funny stories. My children certainly will.

So, someone gave us this "classic" book which they loved and wanted to share with us. Well, I read it to my 2 year old today only to find that there is a huge cat fight ("They bit and scratched and clawed each other...") to be the prettiest cat and they all kill each other ("...have eaten each other all up..."). I guess I just didn't like that they all kill each other save one. Just thought you ought to know - I was surprised to see such positive reviews.