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If You Were Born a Kitten
Newbery Honor author Marion Dane Bauer brings the miracle of birth to young readers in this gentle, informative picture book. Stammen's endearing art is just right, showing animal mothers and their babies on every spread. Full-color illustrations.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
2 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Marion Dane Bauer
172 books186 followersMarion Dane Bauer is the author of more than one hundred books for young people, ranging from novelty and picture books through early readers, both fiction and nonfiction, books on writing, and middle-grade and young-adult novels. She has won numerous awards, including several Minnesota Book Awards, a Jane Addams Peace Association Award for RAIN OF FIRE, an American Library Association Newbery Honor Award for ON MY HONOR, a number of state children's choice awards and the Kerlan Award from the University of Minnesota for the body of her work.
She is also the editor of and a contributor to the ground-breaking collection of gay and lesbian short stories, Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence.
Marion was one of the founding faculty and the first Faculty Chair for the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her writing guide, the American Library Association Notable WHAT'S YOUR STORY? A YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO WRITING FICTION, is used by writers of all ages. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen different languages.
She has six grandchildren and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her partner and a cavalier King Charles spaniel, Dawn.
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INTERVIEW WITH MARION DANE BAUER
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Q. What brought you to a career as a writer?
A. I seem to have been born with my head full of stories. For almost as far back as I can remember, I used most of my unoccupied moments--even in school when I was supposed to be doing other "more important" things--to make up stories in my head. I sometimes got a notation on my report card that said, "Marion dreams." It was not a compliment. But while the stories I wove occupied my mind in a very satisfying way, they were so complex that I never thought of trying to write them down. I wouldn't have known where to begin. So though I did all kinds of writing through my teen and early adult years--letters, journals, essays, poetry--I didn't begin to gather the craft I needed to write stories until I was in my early thirties. That was also when my last excuse for not taking the time to sit down to do the writing I'd so long wanted to do started first grade.
Q. And why write for young people?
A. Because I get my creative energy in examining young lives, young issues. Most people, when they enter adulthood, leave childhood behind, by which I mean that they forget most of what they know about themselves as children. Of course, the ghosts of childhood still inhabit them, but they deal with them in other forms--problems with parental authority turn into problems with bosses, for instance--and don't keep reaching back to the original source to try to fix it, to make everything come out differently than it did the first time. Most children's writers, I suspect, are fixers. We return, again and again, usually under the cover of made-up characters, to work things through. I don't know that our childhoods are necessarily more painful than most. Every childhood has pain it, because life has pain in it at every stage. The difference is that we are compelled to keep returning to the source.
Q. You write for a wide range of ages. Do you write from a different place in writing for preschoolers than for young adolescents?
A. In a picture book or board book, I'm always writing from the womb of the family, a place that--while it might be intruded upon by fears, for instance--is still, ultimately, safe and nurturing. That's what my own early childhood was like, so it's easy for me to return to those feelings and to recreate them.
When I write for older readers, I'm writing from a very different experience. My early adolescence, especially, was a time of deep alienation, mostly from my peers but in some ways from my family as well. And so I write my older stories out of that pain, that longing for connection. A story has to have a problem at its core. No struggle
She is also the editor of and a contributor to the ground-breaking collection of gay and lesbian short stories, Am I Blue? Coming Out from the Silence.
Marion was one of the founding faculty and the first Faculty Chair for the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her writing guide, the American Library Association Notable WHAT'S YOUR STORY? A YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO WRITING FICTION, is used by writers of all ages. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen different languages.
She has six grandchildren and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with her partner and a cavalier King Charles spaniel, Dawn.
-------------------------------------
INTERVIEW WITH MARION DANE BAUER
-------------------------------------
Q. What brought you to a career as a writer?
A. I seem to have been born with my head full of stories. For almost as far back as I can remember, I used most of my unoccupied moments--even in school when I was supposed to be doing other "more important" things--to make up stories in my head. I sometimes got a notation on my report card that said, "Marion dreams." It was not a compliment. But while the stories I wove occupied my mind in a very satisfying way, they were so complex that I never thought of trying to write them down. I wouldn't have known where to begin. So though I did all kinds of writing through my teen and early adult years--letters, journals, essays, poetry--I didn't begin to gather the craft I needed to write stories until I was in my early thirties. That was also when my last excuse for not taking the time to sit down to do the writing I'd so long wanted to do started first grade.
Q. And why write for young people?
A. Because I get my creative energy in examining young lives, young issues. Most people, when they enter adulthood, leave childhood behind, by which I mean that they forget most of what they know about themselves as children. Of course, the ghosts of childhood still inhabit them, but they deal with them in other forms--problems with parental authority turn into problems with bosses, for instance--and don't keep reaching back to the original source to try to fix it, to make everything come out differently than it did the first time. Most children's writers, I suspect, are fixers. We return, again and again, usually under the cover of made-up characters, to work things through. I don't know that our childhoods are necessarily more painful than most. Every childhood has pain it, because life has pain in it at every stage. The difference is that we are compelled to keep returning to the source.
Q. You write for a wide range of ages. Do you write from a different place in writing for preschoolers than for young adolescents?
A. In a picture book or board book, I'm always writing from the womb of the family, a place that--while it might be intruded upon by fears, for instance--is still, ultimately, safe and nurturing. That's what my own early childhood was like, so it's easy for me to return to those feelings and to recreate them.
When I write for older readers, I'm writing from a very different experience. My early adolescence, especially, was a time of deep alienation, mostly from my peers but in some ways from my family as well. And so I write my older stories out of that pain, that longing for connection. A story has to have a problem at its core. No struggle
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 2, 2015
This book deals with babies, and what it is like for different animals when they are born. It's a random assortment of animals from cats to seahorses to porcupines. I didn't like it much. The images are nice watercolor paintings with a nice touch of realism and a warm pervading mood, but the text left a lot to be desired. Each page had a different animal and had one sentence (no more than two, I think) about that baby animal. So, it was about one fact about each animal baby. The baby snake uses a tooth to open his egg. The baby porcupine makes a noise but the adult does not. The baby bears are born while mom is hibernating. It tells brief facts, but on such a superficial level that it isn't really helpful. You don't really learn about what baby animals are like, that they are blind and wet and helpless. At the very end, the book compares a baby human to the baby animals, but all of the comparisons it made could have been made between just a human and a kitten, so I think the book would have been much more effective and educational if it had only talked about what baby kittens were like, and hadn't tried to fit in so many different animals. Also, I did not care for the diction. I know that birth is a gross, messy event, and the author tried to make it sound as nice as possible, but even "the kitten slipped out in a silvery sack" is kind of gag-worthy.
This book could be used about a lesson on reproduction, or biology and the growth of living things.
This book could be used about a lesson on reproduction, or biology and the growth of living things.
February 27, 2011
The kids and I enjoy the sweet pictures in this book. It is about how different animals are born, but keeps each description to a few words. It talks about kittens, snakes, whales, (to name a few) and finally, a human baby. I keep wanting to write that it rhymes, but it doesn't. It definitely strikes me as poetic though. It's been a family favorite for years.
September 20, 2013
This is a short, but interesting look at animal babies. The narrative is quite simple and the repetition will appeal to younger children. But with its lovely pastel illustrations and straightforward science lessons on birth, the book is both informative and fun. We all really enjoyed reading this book together.
November 25, 2017
While this book opens with the birth of kittens, it also covers the birth of many other creatures. The actions of “birth” and early life of sea horses, chickens, whales, snakes, bears and elephants are some of the events that are described. It ends with the birth of a human baby and how the newborn infant has characteristics just like that of other “newborn” animals.
The moment of “birth” is a great transition for the babies. They all go from an extremely protected and safe environment to one where they are helpless and at the mercy of their environment. All are described in words that the early elementary student can understand. The images of mother and “child” are well done and appropriate for this age group.
This is a book that I can strongly recommend to all adults that want their children to learn what new animals are like when they leave their initial shelters.
The moment of “birth” is a great transition for the babies. They all go from an extremely protected and safe environment to one where they are helpless and at the mercy of their environment. All are described in words that the early elementary student can understand. The images of mother and “child” are well done and appropriate for this age group.
This is a book that I can strongly recommend to all adults that want their children to learn what new animals are like when they leave their initial shelters.
November 3, 2017
A gentle introduction to baby animals, somewhere along the lines of "Are You My Mother?" with a few facts about each animal thrown in (e.g. baby porcupines make a sound adults don't, baby elephants sometimes suck their trunks, etc.). Not terribly engaging and not terribly informative, but the illustrations are better than the story.
February 20, 2023
The illustrations were undeniably the best part of this picture book, and the writing itself was good--even poetic at times--but it didn't deliver enough to make this a memorable read unfortunately. However, I would still recommend checking this title out from the library. It is a quick, gentle read.
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March 4, 2020Mama checked this out for me from the school library because I love cats.
March 22, 2021
AR 2.8
July 18, 2022
Very sweet and educational. We will read this again.
May 29, 2024
A sweet book about how different animal babies are born, with an age appropriate part at the end about human babies.
October 10, 2024
An extremely cute book about baby animals.
November 7, 2009
Again, didn't really expect to like this, just checked it out because it was on my list. I like that it discreetly talked about birth and the way different animals are born, as well as people. The pictures are peaceful and calm and the words make a complex subject simple. I don't know though if kids would like this, probably not until elementary school. And if I were a kid, I think I would have a lot more questions, so I don't know if the discretion would continue, but, hey, good opportunity to teach and talk.
April 16, 2008
My kids loved learning about how many different creatures start their lives in comparison with humans. This is a sweet book, with beautiful illustrations of mothers and fathers and babies of all kinds.
August 14, 2013
Shelved in children's fiction, but provides some brief interesting facts on animals. I'm not a huge fan of the art work, but I can see the appeal. The ending is cute, tying together some of the animal qualities to show a baby's birth.
November 9, 2015
Depending on how you feel about kittens, you might be relieved or disappointed to know that this book wasn't just about cats, but about other baby animals. Even if you are disappointed by that news, how fabulous is that cover art?!
January 29, 2008
I really love this book. The illustrations of the newborn animals are beautiful and it's a great introduction to brand-new older siblings that we were all babies once.
September 11, 2008
Paintings beautiful, and text subtly correct. lovely book
October 15, 2008
My daughter really liked the illustrations in this one.
April 8, 2013
Beautiful illustrations. Poetic words.
Want to read
May 13, 2019How i could read the story?
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews