How to Be a Cat

by Nikki McClure

Overview

In cut-paper artist Nikki McClure’s latest picture book, a kitten practices the basics of feline behavior over the course of a day. A single word of text per spread teaches readers “how to be a cat”—how to stretch, clean, pounce, feast—while the striking paper cuts illustrate the kitten’s attempts to imitate an adult cat’s mastery of each skill. At times the kitten triumphantly succeeds, and at other times the kitten struggles, in vignettes that range from whimsical to profound.
A celebration of all things feline, How to Be a Cat also tells a universal story of mastering life skills, and of the sometimes tender, sometimes stern relationship between parent and child, teacher and pupil. Cat lovers of all ages will connect to this loving portrayal of a mentor-student relationship.

Praise for How to Be a Cat
STARRED REVIEWS
"Purrrrfect for beginning readers and little artists with an eye for fine cut-paper compositions and craftsmanship."
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A delightful picture book in every way. Beginning with the paw-print endpapers, youngsters will know that they are in for an adventure. The simplicity and flow of page design are beautifully done as viewers follow a kitten and his mother as she teaches him basic feline behavior."
—School Library Journal, starred review

"McClure's cut-paper spreads can be mesmerizing."
—Publishers Weekly

"McClure wonderfully captures the shape and movement of the feline form, and kids will also enjoy pointing out the blue and white butterflies and the black-capped chickadee that also appear on several pages."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Perfect for cat lovers of all ages, the book helps us reconnect with memories of our own jouney of growth and learning."
—Cat Fancy

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419705281
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	03/12/2013
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	251,898
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Nikki McClure is a self-taught cut-paper artist known for her calendar and gift line. She is the author and illustrator of Mama, Is It Summer Yet?; To Market, To Market; Apple; How to Be a Cat; and the illustrator of All in a Day, written by Cynthia Rylant, and May the Stars Drip Down, written by Jeremy Chatelain. Visit her at nikkimcclure.com. McClure lives in Olympia, Washington.

Editorial Reviews

With their bold black outlines, sinuous curves, and ability to conjure mass out of empty space, McClure’s cut-paper spreads can be mesmerizing. In this simplest of formats—the pages show nothing more than cats being cats, with a single word describing each of their actions—McClure (Apple) is at her best. For “Stretch,” the edge of the page becomes a wall, as the black-on-white-spotted adult and the white-on-black-spotted kitten place their paws on it and push. A periwinkle-blue butterfly, the same color as the words, provides the subtlest accent, alighting on a stair as the two cats descend, the kitten diverted while the adult strides ahead, halfway off the page. Fields of knotted wood grain, a woven doormat, and bowers of leaves provide texture as the cats play hide-and-seek (“Wait”; “Find”), then return home to eat side by side (“Feast”) and curl up together (“Dream”), the butterfly perched on the kitten’s paw. Hours of close attention have gone into this, and hours of close inspection are likely to follow. Ages 2–5. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

A watchful kitten shadows a big cat to learn the fundamentals of feline life. A simple series of double-page spreads introduce kitty-cat basics (CLEAN, POUNCE, LISTEN, LICK, HUNT, CHASE, among others) in capitalized, periwinkle lettering and black-and-white cut-paper illustrations. Two feline foils (one an adult cat that is black with white markings and the other a white kitten with black spots) dominate pages in mesmerizing, bold reliefs. Curvy cat bodies frame borders and cross gutters, creating pleasing puzzles of negative and positive space. While flat and certainly binary, these complex illustrations miraculously evoke the frisky, fluid physicality of feline movement. STRETCH spans both pages from furthest-most left to right, from the tips of tails, across elongated backs, all the way to fully extended paws and claws. Ah, the luxurious pull of flesh and fur! On STALK and CHASE, kitten's body tumbles in duplication, rolling along in fitful pursuit of a blue butterfly (which adds a flicker of color on most pages). Looping lines lasso readers' eyes and leave them swiveling their own hips playfully. Cat keenness comes through too. Kitten's eye twinkles, especially alongside the black, expressionless mask of her mentor. Purrrrfect for beginning readers and little artists with an eye for fine cut-paper compositions and craftsmanship. (Picture book. 1-6)

Kirkus Reviews

Winter 2018

Toddler–From an early morning stretch and gentle grooming to an end-of-the-day feast and dreamy repose, a kitten mimics its parent's behavior as it explores, stalks, and tumbles its way through the day. Boldly rendered black-and-white images offer the perfect background for the large, pale blue font of the text, which consists solely of verbs, and the butterfly that flits its way through the pages with the kitten in pursuit.

School Library Journal