BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Gag, W. (1928). Millions of cats. (W. Gag, Illus.). G. P. Putnam’s Sons.  ISBN 978-0399233159

PLOT SUMMARY 

Once upon a time there was an old man and an old woman who were very lonely. They decided to get a cat, but when the old man went out searching, he found not one cat, but millions and billions and trillions of cats! Unable to decide which one would be the best pet, he brought them all home. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS 

The simplicity of the line drawings done by Gag lets the reader focus on the story. Some of her drawings are from afar so that you can see the old man walking over hills and through valleys and the millions of cats on a hill. She then zooms in so that you see the old man looking at one particular cat. The drawings are sometimes small on a white background and other times the drawing takes up a two-page spread.  

Young children will quickly be able to “read” along with the repeated, rhythmic phrase “hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats.” They will find delight in the exaggeration of how far he must walk just to find a cat. The exaggeration continues when he comes upon a hill with millions and billions of cats and then later in the story when the cats eat a whole field of grass and drink a pond dry. 

This is a favorite that children will want to hear again and again.  

REVIEW EXCERPTS 

Newbery Medal Nominee 1929 

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award 1958 

New York Times “A perennial favorite.” 

School Library Journal One Hundred Books That Shaped the Century said,” Considered by many to have ushered in the age of the modern picture book, this Newbery Honor winner is characterized by innovative design and a strong storyteller’s cadence.” 

CONNECTIONS 

  • Discussions with children about seeing beauty in everything. 
  • Lessons on exaggeration. 
  • Wanting everything is sometimes not the best for us. 
  • Finding that perfect pet. 
  • Other books about pets for children: 
  • Keats, Ezra Jack. WHISTLE FOR WILLIE. ISBN 978-0140502022 
  • Brown, Peter. CHILDREN MAKE TERRIBLE PETS. ISBN 978-0316015486