Millions of Cats

by Wanda Gág

Book Overview

An American classic with a refrain that millions of kids love to chant: Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats. Once upon a time there was an old man and an... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0698200918
• ISBN13: 9780698200913
• Release Date: September 1952
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 9.9" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A childhood favorite!

I loved this book as a kid and have rediscovered it as an adult. The illustrations are engaging. The story has the fun repetition that kids can recite as it goes on. I remember doing so as a kid: "Hundreds of cats. Thousands of cats! Millions and Billions and TRILLIONS of cats!" It does have what some might call a *dark* twist toward the ending that I wasn't bothered by as a kid. If your kids enjoy un-Disneyfied fairytales, they'll love this just as well.

After all of this time, still a brilliantly written, wonderfully illustrated book

Millions of Cats is the oldest children's illustrated book still being published...and there is a grand reason. It is timeless. The bright iconic cover of this 1929 Newbery medal winner draws a child's (adult's) eyes, and the illustrations pull the reader through the wonderfully repetitive story. I must have read this story every day during my childhood. When my boys were born, this was one of the first books they received as a gift from their mama. We wore out the first copy; they got new ones as adults. This is also one of three books I give to new parents. Coincidently, written in 1928, it's the same age of my father.

My Favorite Bedtime Book

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.

Millions, billions, and trillions but not gazillions?

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.

Still irresistable after all these years

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.

MILLIONS OF CATS

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 getsback, 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.

All time children's masterpiece

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.