Millions+of+Cats



  **__Bibliographic Data:__** Reading Level: Pre K- Grade 3 Soft Cover: 30 pages Publisher: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers (1996) Language: English ISBN: 0-698-11363-2 **__Author Biography:__** Wanda Ga’g comes from a family in Minnesota. She was born to a mother and a father who both had a passion for art. This is where she got her inspiration for art. It is said that upon her father’s death bed he told Wanda, “What your papa could not do, Wanda will have to finish.” This message inspired and led Wanda to become an artist and printmaker. Two of her most famous books include __Millions of cats__, and ABC Bunny, both of which are a Newberry Medal Honor book. Other books that received awards, the Caldecott Medal include __Snow White__, and __Nothing at All__. **__Summary:__** “Millions of Cats,” is a book about a very old man and a very old woman. They are very lonely and the old woman wishes to have a cat, so the old man goes out on a journey to find a cat for the woman. During this journey the man finally comes to a hill which, “was quite covered with cats.” The man tries to select the prettiest cat but cannot come to a decision, ultimately deciding to bring all of the the hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats home to the old woman. When the old man gets home with all the cats the old women explains that they cannot possibly care for all of the cats and must decided on which of the cats to keep. They decided to let the cats choose who is the prettiest, and who should stay. This results in a massive cat fight, in which all the cats are said to eat each other up. The old lady however goes outside to find one kitten left after all the fighting has ceased, and takes this lonely kitten in to live out a happy and healthy life with the old couple. **__Review:__** I chose this book because it is the first book I can remember reading all by myself, way back in kindergarten, I also have a love for cats, and this book stood out to me as a young child who wished she could have millions of cats. However I think this book is also appropriate for other elementary school children because it conveys themes of companionship, and survival in a tough world. Through this book children learn that it is important to have friends, human or non human in order to be happy. Students can also see that although sometimes things in their world seem like a struggle or a “cat fight,” the tough times will eventually come to an end and there will be a silver lining that makes things better if they choose to find it. **__Analysis of Literary Elements:__** By reading this book in my future classroom, I plan to teach students about the theme of companionship. Through this book children can see that it is important to the very old woman and the very old man, and overall to others and themselves to have companionship, either human or non human in order to be happy. At the beginning of the book children will read, “But they couldn’t be happy because they were so very lonely.” At this point the man and the woman live alone in their house with no one and nothing else around. As you read on you will read, “If we only had a cat!” This statement after the man and women are said to be lonely will tell children that pets can be a companion that can make them happy. At the very end there is a picture depicting the old man with the old woman and the cat on the floor. Each has a smile and looks happy. This picture shows that with companionship people are happy. All in all, this book can help teach children to be friends with one another, and that more than people can be friends. Children can also learn that cats, dogs, whatever can be friends as well. This book would be great to share in the classroom because it will help children understand and learn about companionship in a fun and entertaining way.