Book Review: MILLIONS OF CATS

Book Review, Genre 1: Millions of Cats

Author: Wanda Ga’g
Title: Millions of Cats
Illustrator: Wanda Ga’g
Publisher: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 1928
ISBN: 0-698-11363-2

Plot summary: Even though it was written in 1928, Millions of Cats by Wanda Ga’g still captures the attention of children today. A very old wife asks her very old husband to find them a cat to keep them company. The very old man sets off and discovers one beautiful cat after another and can NOT decide which cat is beautiful enough to bring home. The familiar refrain “hundreds and thousands and millions and billions and trillions of cats” flows through the book until millions of cats are at the front door of the couple’s house. The very old wife can NOT make up her mind which one she wants. The millions (and billions and trillions) of cats fight amongst themselves as to which one is the most beautiful until only one remains because he was able to keep silent and not quarrel.

Critical analysis: Millions of Cats was hand lettered, written and illustrated by Wanda Ga’g in 1928. While other children’s picture books have been forgotten to history, Ga’g’s book continues to delight children today with the strong black ink drawings on stark white paper. With millions (and billions and trillions) of cats to draw, the reader can tell Ga’g took pains to make each cat distinctive. By the end of the book, readers watch the progress of the homely kitten as it morphs in the drawings from a skinny, scraggly kitten into a well-loved, groomed and plump cat. The kitten obviously brings joy to the very old man and woman.

Review excerpt:

• Received a Newbery Honor award in 1929 – one of the few pictures books to receive this distinction.

• One of the oldest American picture books still in print today.

Writer and reviewer Anita Silvey explained: "She used both pages to move the story forward, putting them together with art that sweeps across the entire page spread: her favorite illustration fell in the center of the book - with the old man carrying cats against the rolling hills."

In 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up, Kaylee Davis calls the book an "enchanting tale", and says "Gag's charming, folk-art style, simple black-and-white illustrations, lyrical language, and catchy refrain that children will happily repeat with each reading, make this a family favorite."

Connections: Readers can learn more about author and illustrator Wanda Ga’g by reading Wanda Gag from the Outstanding Personalities series by SamHar Press or Wanda Ga’g: The Girl Who Lived to Draw by Deborah Kogan Ray. Other books by Wanda Ga’g include The ABC Bunny, The Earth Gnome, and Nothing At All. A school librarian could read Millions of Cats as part of a cat-themed story time or could present Millions of Cats as a book talk while discussing Newbery Awards and Newbery Honor books.


Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. September 7, 2016.

Ga’g, Wanda. Millions of Cats. New York, NY: Putnam & Grosset Group, 1996.

“Millions of Cats.” Wikipedia. Accessed September 06, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millions_of_Cats.