Millions of Cats

By Wanda Gag

This Newberry Honor book tells the story of an old man who goes out in search of a cat for his wife.  But what do you know!  Before his very own eyes, he comes to a hill that is covered in cats: "hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats."  The old man tries to pick the most beautiful cat, but every time he is about to leave he finds one that is just as pretty as the last.  And before he knows it, he has chosen them all!

He brings them all home, only to realize that there is no way that the old couple could feed and house so many cats.  The couple thinks, and decides that they should let all of the cats decide which one they should keep.  "Which one of you is the prettiest?" asks the old man.  Hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions of trillions of cats all think that they are the prettiest.  Soon, all of the cats are fighting, and the old couple runs inside to escape the gigantic brawl.

Soon, they do not hear a sound.  They go outside and there is not a cat to be seen, and they presume that all of the cats have eaten each other up!  But wait!  There is one small, scraggly kitten hiding in a bush.  When they ask how it managed to avoid being eaten, the cat says, "I'm just a very homely little cat.  So when you asked who was the prettiest, I didn't say anything.  So nobody bothered about me."  The couple takes in the tiny kitten, and soon it grows up to be a very beautiful cat, indeed!

This timeless classic tells a story of vanity versus humility.  The illustrations are simple but fit the story perfectly, and the repeated "hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions and billions and trillions of cats" makes this a perfect read-along story for younger readers.  And the fact that it was written more than 80 years ago (1929) just proves that this story is perfect for children of all ages.