Module 2: Millions of Cats

Citation
Gág, W.  (1928).  Millions of Cats.  New York: Coward-McCann, Inc.

Summary
Millions of Cats tells the story of a lonely old man and woman who seek feline companionship.  The man sets off on a trip to procure a lovely cat, but he quickly amasses an entourage of "Hundreds of cats,/ Thousands of cats,/ Millions and billions and trillions of cats" who follow him home, much to the surprise and horror of his wife.  After the other cats begin to squabble, only one puny, homely cat remains.  With much care and nursing, the cat contentedly keeps his elderly friends company happily ever after.

Impression

I know I read Millions of Cats when I was a child; as soon as I saw the jacket, I had an "aha!" moment.  However, I could not tell you when I last beheld the book itself: I'm sure it was over 35 years ago.  Gág's simple black-and-white illustrations lend an artistically primitive, folksy feel to the story.  Her text contains repetitive phrases which lend themselves well to read-alouds with younger children, and I could see it being a fun way of communicating smaller numbers (hundreds), bigger numbers (thousands), and even BIGGER numbers (millions, billions, and trillions).

When I examine such a book, I am struck by how much less text most books designed for preschoolers these days have; much of the assumption, sometimes rightly, is that younger children simply do not have the attention spans of previous generations.  However, not to acquaint younger children with qualitative longer stories, I believe, does them a disservice.  Children are often much more capable than adults think they are.

My one quibble with this book is that the old man and woman at first wanted "the prettiest" cat.  In the end, I suppose, the story demonstrated that kindness cultivates beauty, but it pricked my own sensitivity to the fact that only the handsome or pretty merit attention in the eyes of some.  In any case, as I came to the last illustration, most of my discomfort evaporated as I observed that the homely little kitty, regardless of his initial appearance, was beloved.

Review
Harayda, J.  (2009).  Wanda Gág's Millions of Cats: An American classic for children [blog entry]. One-minute Book Reviews.  Retrieved from http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2009/07/25/wanda-gags-millions-of-cats-an-american-classic-for-children/

"Gág (rhymes with blog) was to picture books what Julia Child was to French cooking – the first American star in a field that has exploded in her wake. And just as Mastering the Art of French Cooking remains a standard-bearer for a generation, so does Gág’s Millions of Cats, first published in 1928." --excerpt

Suggestions for Use
I can sincerely see Millions of Cats as being a part of a collaborative lesson taught as part of a math unit with younger grades.  Not only would the story captivate the children, but its repetition would lend itself well to communicating mathematical concepts.  Students could then have fun developing their own pictures of hundreds of [something of their choice], thousands of ......, millions...., billions..., and trillions of ....................!