Picture Book Review #3

Ga’g, Wanda. 1928. MILLIONS OF CATS. New York, NY: Coward-McCann, Inc. ISBN 0-698-20091-8

PLOT SUMMARY

Loneliness surrounded an old man and an old woman who lived together. The old woman suggests that having a cat could change their solitude. So, the old man set out on foot to find a cat. After walking and walking he happens upon a multitude of cats. He chooses one to take home and then finds another and another and another, ultimately choosing them all because he can’t make up his mind. As they journey back home, the cats are thirsty and each take a sip from a pond which magically makes the pond disappear. The cats then decide they are hungry and are told to eat a mouthful of grass which causes all of the grass to disappear. When they arrive home, the old woman is surprised to see so many cats. Realizing that they won’t be able to feed and care for so many cats, they decide that the cats should pick between themselves who is the prettiest of them all to stay. The cats argue amongst each other causing the old couple to hide inside their house until the noise stops. Amazingly all of the fighting cats disappear and one quiet and skinny, little kitten is left. The old man and the old woman care for their new companion and enjoy life together with its complany.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Wanda Ga’g takes the ordinary situation of an older couple wanting a cat to keep company and turns it into the most unbelievable sequence of events, yet ends the story back into an ordinary situation. The characters used in this story, an old woman, an old man and a bunch of cats are all plausible. The old woman seems to be able to suggest something and the old man immediately does what she wants. The old man seems to be lacking some mentally and has difficulties in being able to make his mind up on which cat he should choose so he has them all journey back with him.

Two unbelievable events happen with a pond of water disappearing with the cats drinking from it and a grassland area disappearing of all its grass because the cats each had a bite. Perhaps this was Ga’g’s way of foreshadowing that the cats would eat the old woman and old man out of house and home if they kept them all. Apparently the old man needed the old woman to point out to him that it wouldn’t be feasible to have all of those cats. In an effort to pick out just one, the couple has the cats choose which one of themselves is the prettiest by ultimately seeing them argue and eat each other. Giving the cats human capabilities to solve this problem is also unbelievable. The quietest nonverbal kitten was the last cat standing and therefore the chosen one.

The setting seems to occur in a home out in the country, distanced from the next part of human civilization that is surrounded by land and rolling hills. If a theme does exist in this picture book, I would have to say that it would be in how others perceive us. Are we pushy and difficult to be around or are we noticed because of the fine way in which we carry ourselves? During the man’s journey to find a cat, he begins saying a catchy rhythmic phrase, “Hundreds of cats, Thousands of cats, Millions and billions and trillions of cats.” This cadence being mentioned many times forward, gives the story a nice momentum to ride itself out to the end. The cultural feel in this book feels a bit foreign and dated in nature. It was written a long, long time ago.

Ga’g also illustrated this book. She uses a colorful cover of black, yellow and red, but minimizes the inside of the book by using black ink only. The format of where the illustrations lie on each page is all very different. Sometimes the text wraps around the picture, while on other pages there lays a picture only or a page that is half and half. Some of the illustrations lie at angles on the pages and allow the eye to exercise itself with a sweeping of movement in following its full picture. The illustrations seem to be drawn by hand with a fine tipped pen and are afforded much detail. Fixating on the many, many cats that were drawn on some of the pages is quite remarkable. The text and pictures definitely complement each other and match up throughout the story. Their various placement among each page make it stand out from the traditional picture book format.

As an adult the black and white layout on the page is fine to look at, but many a child would argue that this is a “boring” story, simply grading the pages on initial looks and their not being much color. Unfortunately with the advancement in printing, children have become a bit spoiled in assuming that every picture should have color.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

John Newbery Medal, 1929 Honor Book United States

School Library Journal ”One Hundred Books that Shaped the Century”: "This Newbery Honor winner is distinguished by innovative design and a strong storyteller's cadence."

The New York Times: “A perennial favorite."

CONNECTIONS

*Third grade students could be introduced to place value by reading and discussing this book. Who can write 100 on the board? Who can write a thousand? Who can write a million? Who can write a billion? Who can write a trillion? How do the different numbers written seem to change?

*Could a trillion different kinds of cats really exist? Let’s research how many kinds of cat breads exist.

* Research could be extended with students after a list has been compiled and students could individually choose a breed to research. Finding out its original origin, typical life span, food preference, physical characteristics, by nature is it better suited for the wild or as a domestic pet, and what kind of demeanor is this cat known to be like. Students could gather this information and be asked to create a single page power point displaying an actual picture of their breed along with listing all of the answers to the requested information. All slides could then be compiled into a collaborative effort of research about cats.