How to Be a Cat

by Nikki McClure

Overview

In Nikki McClure’s tender board 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 loving relationship between parent and child.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419705281
Publisher:	Abrams Appleseed
Publication date:	03/12/2013
Pages:	40
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. McClure lives in Olympia, Washington.

Editorial Reviews

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

"Boldly rendered black-and-white images offer the perfect background for the large, pale blue font of the text."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher