Three Little Kittens

December 1, 1986
PreS-Gr 1 -Galdone lends new life and sense to the verse in this exuberant retelling of the Mother Goose rhyme with four delightful feline characters. The large type is readable and inviting, with only one or two lines of text per page. Double-page spreads are filled with vibrant watercolor washes over ink sketches. While the expressions of the cats will be the focus of children's attention, there are countless details for them to discover for themselves, such as the animal-influenced decor of the cats' home, the spice cabinet filled with different varieties of catnip, and cat ancestor portraits. Children will relate to the kittens' deserved punishment for carelessness, their theatrical displays of sorrow, and their earnest efforts to get into both their mother's good graces and that delicious looking pie. This refreshingly hearty version of the nonsense verse will be as much a favorite of adult storytellers as it will be of toddler listeners. Yvonne A. Frey, Peoria Public Library, Ill.

July 1, 2011
These four books (more to come) appear in a uniform paper-over-board edition. Galdone was a refreshingly modest illustrator: his retellings are straightforward and his unassumingly loose-lined, color-separated pictures provide just enough embellishment, as when the lazy cat in The Little Red Hen lolls on the couch, dreaming of sardines. Plenty of white space gives the stories all the room they need.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)