Telling Time with Big Mama Cat [Hardcover]

Dan Harper (Author), Barry Moser (Illustrator), Cara Moser (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1998 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: K and up

A snack at 9:00, a nap at 10:00, sneaking onto the forbidden chair at 11:00--telling time is the only way Big Mama Cat can remember all the important things she has to do. Follow Big Mama Cat from sunrise till day's end, and you can learn to tell time, too! A sturdy fold-out page at the front of the book reveals a clock with movable plastic hands. Young readers can change the time as Big Mama Cat moves from one adventure to the next in her busy day.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A cat who knows how to tell time? "How else could I keep my busy day on schedule?" asks Big Mama Cat. Harper, in his first book, cleverly employs the cat narrator to recount a grueling schedule of napping, stretching, "prewashing" the dirty dishes and lingering nearby if a snack seems forthcoming. A page featuring a clock with movable plastic hands shows through the die-cut cover, and folds out so readers can move the clock hands to the times cited in the book. The handsome illustrations, composed by Cara Moser and painted in watercolors by Barry Moser (the father-daughter team also illustrated Eagle Boy: A Traditional Navajo Legend), capture expressions and poses that will be familiar to cat lovers: looking unrepentant as she is "helped down" from the forbidden new chair and licking her chops at the dinner table ("I'm not invited, but I grab a seat and look hungry"). One humorous spread shows the sly feline at the door, on the left, wanting to go outside at 10:30 a.m.; on the right, at 10:45 (displayed on a cat clock), she peers in from the outside and wants in?a tiny mouse pictured inside the house provides the explanation. With activities every hour, and sometimes more often, Big Mama Cat will likely succeed in teaching young cat lovers to clock their days with confidence. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-A feline claims, "Some people think cats don't know much-but I, Big Mama Cat, know how to tell time. How else could I keep my busy day on schedule?" Readers quickly discover the irony in this assertion, as illustrations soon reveal that her busy day consists of napping, eating, or waiting to do one or the other. Her proprietary interest in the goings-on of her domain are manifest in her awareness of the humans' schedule, from the morning rituals of baby feedings and the school bus to the family's evening routine of dinner and a bedtime story. The simple, consistent arrangement of text and pictures on each page gently frames the humor and perfectly captures the everyday dramas of naptime and tea parties. Humor is furthered by visual details, including birds and mice of which the proud feline narrator seems completely unaware. Clocks showing the times noted in the text are clearly visible on every page and can be supplemented by a clock with moveable plastic hands that is part of the front cover. The tongue-in-cheek tone of the story and high-quality art are so engrossing, however, that the cover clock might be entirely ignored. Buy several copies; this combination is guaranteed to please those learning to tell time as well as their younger siblings.
Tana Elias, Meadowridge Branch Library, Madison, WI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 36 pages
• Publisher: HMH Books; 1st edition (October 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152017380
• ISBN-13: 978-0152017385
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A delightful way for young children to learn about time, November 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Telling Time with Big Mama Cat (Hardcover)

My children love this book especially because the story is very realistic and the moveable hands on the clock are wonderful tools for teaching children to tell time.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging book with delightful illustrations., June 14, 2009

By 

I. Polt-Jones "twinfant mom at twinfant.com" (East Bay, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Telling Time with Big Mama Cat (Hardcover)

This is a very simple tale (or tail!) of a cat's busy day. As you know, cats have quite a schedule to keep, what with napping, and eating, and napping again! Told from the cat's point of view, as she keeps her people company during the day. Interestingly, daddy is at home with the three girls, and mommy comes home from work at the end of the day. This point is very subtle though, you just see the dad walking the dog, and his hand here and there.

As you read, your kids can try to match the hands of the moveable clockface to the one in the story.

Lovely watercolor illustrations in a realistic style. Look for the little mouse hiding every few pages!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cat lovers delight, August 5, 2000

By 

Deanna - See all my reviews

This review is from: Telling Time with Big Mama Cat (Hardcover)

This pleasantly simple picturebook features a nicely illustrated cat who describes her day. A foldout moveable clock allows children to match the hands of the clock with the time of day being described by Mother Cat. The pictures are soothing and the work is both comforting and fun.