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How Kittens Grow
A photographic essay describing four kittens' first eight weeks of life.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
32 people want to read
About the author
Millicent E. Selsam
143 books18 followersMillicent Ellis Selsam was was a biologist and teacher who wrote natural science literature for children.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 8, 2019
How Kittens Grow is a very warm book meant for kitten lovers like myself. This book goes through the first eight weeks of a kitten's life, with details many people do not pay attention too. This book talks about the kitten's special nursing nipple, outdoor cats/farm cats, and even at what age the kittens start to develop senses.
I really loved this book, as you probably know I am a huge cat fan, so this was adorable to read about and I learned a few things. I learned from this book mostly because the pound that my family adopts from nurses the kittens until they aren't needing their mother at every second or moment.
I would have this book in my classroom, but I couldn't see myself reading this to the kids because I feel like there will be some students who despise cats or will just view the pictures and not want to learn facts. This book would be kept on a bookshelf for the kids who want to learn about cats. This book will be great for kids because some kids do not like to read, and this book provides so many pictures, so they can just go through this book without even reading and may even learn that way.
I really loved this book, as you probably know I am a huge cat fan, so this was adorable to read about and I learned a few things. I learned from this book mostly because the pound that my family adopts from nurses the kittens until they aren't needing their mother at every second or moment.
I would have this book in my classroom, but I couldn't see myself reading this to the kids because I feel like there will be some students who despise cats or will just view the pictures and not want to learn facts. This book would be kept on a bookshelf for the kids who want to learn about cats. This book will be great for kids because some kids do not like to read, and this book provides so many pictures, so they can just go through this book without even reading and may even learn that way.
January 2, 2023
How Kittens Grow (Paperback) by Millicent E. Selsam, Illustrator- Neil Johnson- Hindi language translation by Vidushak- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- This book narrates the story of how Kittens grow. This book goes through the first eight weeks of a kitten's life, with details many people do not pay attention too. This book talks about the kitten's special nursing nipple, outdoor cats/farm cats, and even at what age the kittens start to develop senses. When kittens are born, cat lies down near them. As days pass, the kittens use their paws to arrive near their mother. Nest, the kittens are able to open their eyes. They move away from their brothers. Cat picks them up with her mouth and brings them back. They suck the milk from their mother from a specific nipple. Their ears open and they are able to hear. After 5 weeks, they are able to eat cooked food laid for their mother and for them. After 8 weeks, they move out in the farm to learn how to catch mice for their food. Coloured illustrations help the reader to relate to the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.
February 26, 2019
I have fond memories of this book because I checked it out from the library about a million times in elementary school. When my school shut down at the end of my fourth grade year, the librarian entrusted me with the care of the book, as it was one of the earlier copies (it's at least twenty years older than me) and was very fragile. Whenever I'm feeling nostalgic, I pull this book off the shelf and leaf through the pages, admiring the photographs of the sweet little kittens and their mother. I highly recommend this book to children who love animals and want to learn about them.
June 17, 2024
1-3 Grades
Informational Text
This is a good text if students are doing a research paper. This is also a simple text which I like. It goes through the stages of which a kitten grows from birth to eight weeks.
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November 25, 2015Title: How Kittens Grow
Author: Millicent E. Selsam
Illustrator: (Photographs) Neil Johnson
Genre: Photographic Essay
Theme(s): Cats, Kittens, Growing
Opening line/sentence:
How do kittens grow?
Brief Book Summary: This book explains how kittens grow. It chronicles the different stage of their life.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: PSU Libraries
Margaret M. Bauman, formerly at Warwick Elementary School Library, Jamison, Pa.
K-Gr 2- A simple text and engaging black-and-white photographs highlight the first eight weeks in the lives of four kittens from their newborn helplessness to their readiness to leave for a new home. Similar in format to the author’s How Puppies Grow (Four Winds: Scholastic, 1972), this is an attractive and informative book which will appeal to young primary readers as as well as older reluctant readers
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Kirkus Reviews
. . .the same way as . . .Puppies Grow (KR, 1972) only, to our prejudiced eyes, more engagingly. But why begin with ""Mother cat has just given birth to these four kittens"" when the whole dramatic experience was shared with us in The Birth of Sunset's Kittens?
Response to Two Professional Reviews: The second review barely says anything really about this book. The first review has more to say. It talks about how engaging this book is, and how young readers will enjoy reading it. It also focuses on the photos of this book. This review explains that the photographs make the words more meaningful, which I agree with.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The photographs in this story make it that much more interesting. Real pictures of kittens make it easier to understand the material that is being taught. This book is well suited for the targeted age group. Young readers will be drawn to the pictures.
Consideration of Instructional Application: In my classroom, I would use this book to explain how everything goes through the life cycle. It is important for kids to know that everything grows, just like they do. The pictures would add to my lesson. This book follows the lives of young kittens, which I think would be great information for the kids to have and understand. The kids could pick their favorite animal, and find out the life cycle of that animal. For example, the kids could find out how old different animals are until they are considered adults.
Author: Millicent E. Selsam
Illustrator: (Photographs) Neil Johnson
Genre: Photographic Essay
Theme(s): Cats, Kittens, Growing
Opening line/sentence:
How do kittens grow?
Brief Book Summary: This book explains how kittens grow. It chronicles the different stage of their life.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: PSU Libraries
Margaret M. Bauman, formerly at Warwick Elementary School Library, Jamison, Pa.
K-Gr 2- A simple text and engaging black-and-white photographs highlight the first eight weeks in the lives of four kittens from their newborn helplessness to their readiness to leave for a new home. Similar in format to the author’s How Puppies Grow (Four Winds: Scholastic, 1972), this is an attractive and informative book which will appeal to young primary readers as as well as older reluctant readers
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Kirkus Reviews
. . .the same way as . . .Puppies Grow (KR, 1972) only, to our prejudiced eyes, more engagingly. But why begin with ""Mother cat has just given birth to these four kittens"" when the whole dramatic experience was shared with us in The Birth of Sunset's Kittens?
Response to Two Professional Reviews: The second review barely says anything really about this book. The first review has more to say. It talks about how engaging this book is, and how young readers will enjoy reading it. It also focuses on the photos of this book. This review explains that the photographs make the words more meaningful, which I agree with.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The photographs in this story make it that much more interesting. Real pictures of kittens make it easier to understand the material that is being taught. This book is well suited for the targeted age group. Young readers will be drawn to the pictures.
Consideration of Instructional Application: In my classroom, I would use this book to explain how everything goes through the life cycle. It is important for kids to know that everything grows, just like they do. The pictures would add to my lesson. This book follows the lives of young kittens, which I think would be great information for the kids to have and understand. The kids could pick their favorite animal, and find out the life cycle of that animal. For example, the kids could find out how old different animals are until they are considered adults.
May 25, 2011
Simple text and large black and white photos show the growth of kittens from birth to eight weeks. I think books such as this are a great idea, because they can easily be used to replace that tired old excuse people give for letting their pets have unwanted litters: “I wanted the kids to learn about birth.”
February 11, 2016
This is a great book for any animal science project. It goes through the process of when a kitten is born and how they begin to develop. It discusses traits that a kitten will have while they are younger.
February 25, 2016
How Kittens Grow is a great non-fiction text that considers student culture if any students have an affinity for kittens or cats. The illustrations are done in black and white but they are photographs.
June 17, 2012
my copy is a much older edition, w/black and white photos
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March 5, 2016A Purrfect informational book about kittens in their first 8 weeks. Would be great to use inside the class to teach students how to give information. Nonfiction.
April 26, 2023
This is an informative book about how kittens grow from birth to eight weeks old.
April 9, 2012
I really dislike this book but my girls really enjoy it.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews