Child Magazine
A Child Magazine Best Book of 2001 Pick
Inside a little girl's house live five creatures -- three humans and two cats. Mix-and-match descriptions ("Two who like to eat mice. Only one who likes to eat beets") add up to loads of fun.
Kirkus Reviews
Shared and distinct traits appear in the five creatures in Jenkins's household—two adults, a young girl, and two cats. Bogacki (My First Garden, 2000, etc.) uses a fish-eye perspective and a schoolchild's elementary expressiveness to give these comparisons a decidedly mellow, soft-focus feel. "Four who like to eat fish. Three who like to drink milk, one who's allergic, and one who only has it in coffee. Two who like to eat mice. Only one who likes to eat beets." The comparisons fluidly shift back and forth, including adult with child, or child with cat, or any combination that fits. There are even those shared if dissimilar tastes: "Five who love birds . . . but not all in the same way." There are touches of humor: apparently one of the cats can open the cupboard door, and it's the cats and adults who can climb on high stools. The book has an appealing way of inviting the reader in, allowing for moments of identification: "Two who can read, and one who is learning" or "three who don't like taking baths." And it is also good fun to chart the action of the text; it's not always who you'd think who gets included or left out of the mix. A great introduction to Venn diagramming, but fun enough to start folks grouping on their own. (Picture book. 3-6)
From the Publisher
A little girl contemplates the relationships among the five members of her family . . . She begins with similarities in appearance - 'three with orange hair' (mother, child, one cat) . . . then moves on to more idiosyncratic groups: 'one who can crawl under the fridge' . . . What emerges is a cozy portrait of two cats and three people who make up one loving family.” —Starred, The Horn Book
“This clever, multi-layered book is as much for sharing and getting little ones on the path to deductive reasoning as it is for reading.” —Starred, Booklist
