My New Kitten [Hardcover]

Joanna Cole (Author), Margaret Miller (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

Join one very happy girl as she watches her new kitten from the moment it's born to the day it opens its eyes. Then share the excitement as little Dusty learns to walk and climb. When he starts to eat cat food, wash himself, and play with toys, he's ready to leave his brothers and sisters and go to live in his new home. Full-color photos.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-In big, bright, full-color photographs and brief text, a little girl follows the growth of five Maine Coon kittens from their birth to the time she can take one home. This book promotes warm, fuzzy feelings and at the same time gives youngsters just a peek at the creatures' developmental stages. It is for slightly younger readers than Heiderose and Andreas Fischer-Nagel's A Kitten Is Born (Putnam, 1983; o.p.), which offers a few more facts but no people interacting with the felines.
Margaret Chatham, formerly at Smithtown Library, NY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 3-6. Cole is no stranger to cats (her book Cat's Body was published in 1982) or to Miller, who provided the photos for Cole's 1991 My Puppy Is Born. Working together again, the two offer a delightful view of a child coming to know and to love a kitten. The photo-documentary follows the budding relationship in nongraphic pictures from the kitten's birth and early development until the exciting moment when the little girl, who's grown to love the feisty fur ball, is finally able to take it home from her aunt's house. With Miller's warm, colorful photos showing the tiny creature as it explores its new world, first with its mother close by, then on its own, and finally with a smiling child as caretaker and companion, Cole puts the emphasis on development, not birth (for information on that, turn to Camilla Jessell's excellent 1992 Kitten Book). It's the fetching, often close-up photos and the feelings they inspire that make this book special, with the factual information adding just the right bit of glue. The result will be difficult to resist. Stephanie Zvirin

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 1 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688129013
• ISBN-13: 978-0688129019
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,068,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Useful Book - a review of "My New Kitten", May 29, 2008

By 

Pam Tee "Busy Mom" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: My New Kitten (Hardcover)

The publisher talks about the 'story' in this book on the flyleaf, but in my opinion the story is not very important and is only there as a backdrop for pictures that show the arrival of a beautiful set of cuddly gray kittens.

The book's approach to the birth, nursing, and the growth of the kittens is very gentle and sweet. When the little girl notices that her aunt's cat, Cleo, is fatter than usual, it is explained to her that there is "a whole litter of beautiful kittens inside her". The birth itself is addressed simply with a picture of a wet kitten being licked, and the text says that Cleo "pushed each one out of her body". The pictures and narrative then continues as the kittens are shown to nurse, open their eyes, wiggle/crawl, walk and play, etc. Until the day when the little girl can take her favorite home.

Four Stars - [B-] Lots of big photo's in this book. While the publisher talks about about the 'delightful' story, the best use of this book in my opinion would be to introduce children to the birthing process/how kittens develop - eyes open, crawling, walking....

The gentle approach to the topic and cheerful pictures make the book appropriate for the Toddler, Preschooler, and early elementary set. The Accelerated Reading/ATOS designation (1.9 -ninth month of 1st Grade) says that the book was written with beginning Second Graders in mind. No information is provided about the care of cats.

Pam T~
mom and reviewer at BooksforKids-reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A Useful Book - a review of "My New Kitten", August 25, 2009

By 

Pam Tee "Busy Mom" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

The publisher talks about the 'story' in this book on the flyleaf, but in my opinion the story is not very important and is only there as a backdrop for pictures that show the arrival of a beautiful set of cuddly gray kittens.

The book's approach to the birth, nursing, and the growth of the kittens is very gentle and sweet. When the little girl notices that her aunt's cat, Cleo, is fatter than usual, it is explained to her that there is "a whole litter of beautiful kittens inside her". The birth itself is addressed simply with a picture of a wet kitten being licked, and the text says that Cleo "pushed each one out of her body". The pictures and narrative then continues as the kittens are shown to nurse, open their eyes, wiggle/crawl, walk and play, etc. Until the day when the little girl can take her favorite home.

Four Stars - [B-] Lots of big photo's in this book. While the publisher talks about about the 'delightful' story, the best use of this book in my opinion would be to introduce children to the birthing process/how kittens develop - eyes open, crawling, walking....

The gentle approach to the topic and cheerful pictures make the book appropriate for the Toddler, Preschooler, and early elementary set. The Accelerated Reading/ATOS designation (1.9 -ninth month of 1st Grade) says that the book was written with beginning Second Graders in mind. No information is provided about the care of cats.

Pam T~
mom and reviewer at BooksforKids-reviews