Mama Cat Has Three Kittens

( 1 )

Overview


"Mama Cat has three kittens, Fluffy, Skinny, and Boris. Whatever Mama Cat does, Fluffy and Skinny are right behind, climbing the wall, digging in the sand, chasing leaves. All Boris seems to do is nap. Will he ever wake up and join the fun?"

Using her own cats as models, Denise Fleming has captured the moods, expressions, and antics of a mother cat and her kittens. But there is a rebel in every crowd, and ...

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More About This Book

Overview


"Mama Cat has three kittens, Fluffy, Skinny, and Boris. Whatever Mama Cat does, Fluffy and Skinny are right behind, climbing the wall, digging in the sand, chasing leaves. All Boris seems to do is nap. Will he ever wake up and join the fun?"

Using her own cats as models, Denise Fleming has captured the moods, expressions, and antics of a mother cat and her kittens. But there is a rebel in every crowd, and Boris is sure to charm readers who will recognize themselves in his contrary ways.

While two kittens copy everything their mother does, their brother naps.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Preschoolers will request repeat readings of this delightful story. An excellent choice for reading aloud to groups."
--School Library Journal, starred review

"Fleming's text is right on humorous target. This is a close-to-perfect dance of text and illustrations."
--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

Publishers Weekly
An orange tabby prefers to nap while his mother and siblings sharpen their claws and chase leaves-until the other kittens curl up for a rest, then he is ready to pounce. "The repetition of simple phrases and actions is sure to be a hit with toddlers," said PW. Ages 2-5. (Oct.)
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
From Peter Rabbit to the Poky Little Puppy, there's one in every family--one offspring who marches to the beat of a different drummer. In Fleming's (In the Tall, Tall Grass) chipper picture book, the odd kitten out is Boris, an orange tabby who prefers to nap while his mother and siblings sharpen their claws and chase leaves. But when Mama Cat and kittens Fluffy and Skinny curl up for a rest, Boris is ready to pounce (if only to find his next napping spot). Fleming's self-proclaimed love of cats (she lives with seven) permeates this somewhat slight but playful outing, as she accurately captures feline behavior and movement. The repetition of simple phrases and actions is also sure to be a hit with toddlers. In her vibrant artwork, composed with boldly colored cotton fiber pulp and stencils, Fleming creates a sense of texture and depth unique to her medium. Mama Cat's luxurious black fur is speckled and contoured with blue and flashes of fuchsia, an unusual but effective color combination, which endows Mama with both dimension and significance. On every page, the cats' eyes shine brightly in varying tones of fluorescent yellow and green. In addition to following the frolicking felines from scene to scene, young children will have great fun spotting trios of caterpillars, ladybugs, snails and bumblebees as well as a leery mouse who manages to stay out of the cats' path. Ages 2-5. (Sept.)
Children's Literature - Cheryl Peterson
This charming story about Mama cat and her three kittens (Fluffy, Skinny, and Boris), is based on the author's own collection of cats. Fluffy and Skinny follow their Mama while she washes, sharpens her claws, and chases leaves, but Boris only naps. Denise Fleming won a Caldecott Honor for her previous book, In the Small, Small Pond, and she uses the same illustration technique for this one. She pours colored cotton pulp through hand-cut stencils resulting in images set in handmade paper that are beautiful, distinctive and colorful. The full-page illustrations are accompanied by text printed in large bold type. This book is sure to become a favorite for toddlers and preschoolers.
Children's Literature
Fluffy and Skinny follow and imitate Mama Cat in her various activities, while Boris naps. Finally Boris wakes up and pounces! But he soon naps again, in this bare-bones, comfortingly familiar, and humorous, repetitive tale told in large type. The bold, caption-like text doesn't hint at the vitality of the characters we see in the illustrations. Fleming uses prepared colored cotton pulp for her handmade paper images. Double pages are designed to present the textured shapes of the very active animals and decorative flowers in ways to stimulate emotions, while adding details to attract attentive eyes. Fleming has also produced a papermaking kit for older students to try out her technique.
School Library Journal
(PreS-K) As Mama cat leads her kittens through a garden adventure, Fluffy and Skinny carefully follow her example (cleaning paws, chasing leaves) while Boris naps. The surprise comes when Boris is ready to frolic and the others are too exhausted to play. Preschoolers will request repeat readings of this delightful story and enjoy searching for the smaller creatures found on each page. Fleming's kittens, created by pouring colored cotton pulp through hand-cut stencils, are large and bold and set against colorful backdrops. An excellent choice for reading aloud to groups.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA.
Kirkus Reviews
Mama Cat has three kittens: two mimics and one contrarian. When she washes her paws, so do Fluffy and Skinny; Boris naps. When she walks on the stone wall, sharpens her claws, chases leaves, digs in the sand, Fluffy and Skinny are her shadows; Boris naps. When Mama Cat curls up for a snooze, Boris becomes active, pouncing on his kin before resuming his nap. The story is charming, but remains almost incidental to Fleming's eye-rattling artwork in which cotton pulp is transformed into color-drenched handmade paper. The details are finer in this bookþmore controlledþand offer readers the full range of cat gestures and contours. Readers will enjoy following the kittens' purposeful preening, as well as the progress of a mouse that sneaks through the pages until it finds its little ones safe in the nest. (Picture book. 4-9)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780805057454
  • Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
  • Publication date: 9/15/1998
  • Edition description: REV
  • Edition number: 1
  • Pages: 32
  • Sales rank: 697,261
  • Age range: 1 - 4 Years
  • Product dimensions: 9.35 (w) x 11.27 (h) x 0.44 (d)

Meet the Author


Denise Fleming has written and illustrated many children’s books, including In the Tall, Tall Grass, Shout! Shout It Out!, and Sleepy, Oh So Sleepy. She won a Caldecott Honor for In the Small, Small Pond. Denise published her first painting in the third grade, when she started taking classes at the Toledo Museum of Art and one of her paintings was chosen to be the cover of a teacher’s magazine. She now works primarily with paper, by pouring colored paper pulp through hand-cut stencils. She lives in Toledo, Ohio.
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Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review

  • Posted March 15, 2009

    Cute Toddler Book that is Easy for Kids to Recite

    We found Denise Fleming through the recommendation of our local librarian. What a cute book! The text couldn't be any simpler, but my daughter (22 months) loves it. Since each page ends the same, my daughter enjoys yelling out "Boris naps!" Also good for acting out the scratching, digging, etc. by Mama Cat.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
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