Millions of Cats (Module 1)

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ga’g, Wanda. 1928. Millions of Cats. New York, NY: Coward-McCann. ISBN 9780142407080

2. PLOT SUMMARY
The story begins with an old man and woman who are lonely. She decided she wants a cat, so her husband goes on a search for one. He walked a long time to find a hill covered in cats. Because the man couldn’t decide which one he liked the best, he came home with “hundreds and thousands and millions and billions and trillions of cats.” Once home, his wife pointed out they could never care for so many cats. So, they asked the cats which one was the best looking. A fight ensued, and all that was left was homely cat that had not fought to be the prettiest. The couple took that cat in and in time, he became “the most beautiful cat in the whole world.”

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The most striking aspect of this book is the hand drawn text, which is so unique to publishing. The simple black and white drawings complement the story well as we get a visual on all those cats. The drawings leave us with a feeling that there really are a trillion cats pictured because they seem to disappear off the page without end. The illustrations also add quaint touches to the story, like the wedding pictures hanging in the home of the old man and woman at the end of the book.

The writing itself has a timeless folktale appeal. There rhythmic phrase, “Hundreds of cats,/ Thousands of cats,/ Millions and billions and trillions of cats,” is repeated multiple times in the book, making it a fun read-aloud. The only literary image (not shown in illustrations) that is slightly disturbing is how the cat fight ended because they “must have eaten each other all up.” This, however, is not overly gruesome and enhances its folktale-like quality.

The overall message is not preachy but subtle. Ga’g allows readers to draw their own conclusions about the tale as a whole. The theme of humility versus pride/vanity cannot be overlooked, though.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Newbery Honor book—a rarity for a picture book
• School Library Journal's “One Hundred Books that Shaped the Century”: “This Newbery Honor winner is distinguished by innovative design and a strong storyteller's cadence.”
• Review in The New York Times: “A perennial favorite.”
  

5. CONNECTIONS

• This book can easily be tied into the classic tale on self-esteem, The Ugly Duckling, where an animal finds itself turning from homeliness to beauty.
  
• As the couple is lonely and looking for companionship, Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett (ISBN: 9780399251610) gives us another book on this topic of loneliness. In this tale, the gingerbread baby is lonely and looking for friends. There are quite a few who try to follow him home (although not for friendly reasons), but in the end, he finds what he was looking for right where he started—at home.
• The Funny Thing and Snippy and Snappy are considered companion stories to Millions of Cats. These were once all published together in Wanda Ga'g's Story Book. Reading these together gives a great look at early picture books.
  
• Other books about pets:
  

Child, Lauren. I Want a Pet. ISBN 9781582462387

Lee, Spike and Tonya Lewis Lee. Please, Puppy, Please. Ill. by Kadir Nelson. ISBN: 9780689868047

Middleton, Charlotte. Do You Still Love Me? ISBN: 9780763622541.