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Cats
Presents a guide to cats, discussing their existence as domestic pets for the past four thousand years, differences in their physical characteristics, ways one can communicate with them, and the proper manner in which to care for them
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
1 person is currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Gail Gibbons
222 books161 followersFrom gailgibbons.com: I was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1944. Even as a little child, I was always busy putting books together. Sometimes I would bind them with yarn to hold the pages together. I've always loved drawing and painting. I was also a very curious child. My parents tell me that I was always asking lots and lots of questions.
Later, I went on to the University of Illinois, where I studied graphic design. Then I moved to New York City, where I got a job doing artwork for television shows. Eventually I was asked to do the artwork for a children's show. While doing that show, some of the children asked me if I had ever thought of doing children's books. My mind immediately recalled how much I enjoyed doing that type of thing when I was a child. So I put an idea for a book together and right away a publisher bought it. That book was called Willy and His Wheel Wagon. Since then, over 170 books that I have written and illustrated have been published. The type of books I write are non-fiction books. This is because I love researching so much. I get to ask lots of questions, just like when I was a kid. I also get to travel and meet lots of interesting people. While doing research for my book Nature's Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests, I traveled to two islands where there are tropical rain forests, Saba and Dominica. I also had a great time writing and illustrating the book. I get a lot of pleasure from doing the type of work I do.
Later, I went on to the University of Illinois, where I studied graphic design. Then I moved to New York City, where I got a job doing artwork for television shows. Eventually I was asked to do the artwork for a children's show. While doing that show, some of the children asked me if I had ever thought of doing children's books. My mind immediately recalled how much I enjoyed doing that type of thing when I was a child. So I put an idea for a book together and right away a publisher bought it. That book was called Willy and His Wheel Wagon. Since then, over 170 books that I have written and illustrated have been published. The type of books I write are non-fiction books. This is because I love researching so much. I get to ask lots of questions, just like when I was a kid. I also get to travel and meet lots of interesting people. While doing research for my book Nature's Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests, I traveled to two islands where there are tropical rain forests, Saba and Dominica. I also had a great time writing and illustrating the book. I get a lot of pleasure from doing the type of work I do.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 13, 2019
I love cats
I love every kind of cat
I just want to hug all of them
But I can't
Can't hug every cat...
This picture book crams in a lot of information about cats and their history. It would be a really nice resource for an elementary school student who was putting together a report. I was happy to see some info about spay/neuter in the "cat care" section, which wasn't always as common in mainstream materials over 20 years ago. I wasn't a huge fan of the illustration style.
I love every kind of cat
I just want to hug all of them
But I can't
Can't hug every cat...
This picture book crams in a lot of information about cats and their history. It would be a really nice resource for an elementary school student who was putting together a report. I was happy to see some info about spay/neuter in the "cat care" section, which wasn't always as common in mainstream materials over 20 years ago. I wasn't a huge fan of the illustration style.
February 12, 2021
Disappointing compared to other Gail Gibbons books I have read. Basic information about cats...nothing new to a kid who reads anything and everything about animals, like I did. The words "Felidae" and "mackerel" are misspelled in the text, it says "ancestors" when it should have said "descendants," and it seems to imply that cats only have claws on their front paws?! I also didn't like how every picture was labeled with a breed name, when most cats people see are generic mixed breeds. Maybe there should have been a page about some of the more popular cat breeds, with the rest of the illustrations unlabeled.
August 24, 2021
My first move was to check the copyright date on this book because I'm telling you, they just don't make children's books like this anymore.
Lovingly illustrated and including factual information that's both age-appropriate and runs the gamut, this nonfiction book will hook any young cat enthusiast. A must-have for classrooms or the homes of crazy cat people like me.
Lovingly illustrated and including factual information that's both age-appropriate and runs the gamut, this nonfiction book will hook any young cat enthusiast. A must-have for classrooms or the homes of crazy cat people like me.
August 5, 2018
Presents information about the physical characteristics, senses and behavior of cats, as well as how to care of these animals and some general facts about them. Also includes some historical information.
August 21, 2019
A nice nonfiction book about the history of cats, cat facts, and how to care for a cat. Plenty of lovely illustrations of the different breeds of cats.
April 12, 2012
I read the book Cats by Gail Gibbons
SUMMARY: This book is all about cats. It ranges from different types of cats, their colors, body parts, birthing kittens and even their history in Egypt. This is a good book to reading to somewhat of an older audience that can understand the concepts of breeds and how their use their body parts. The book labels every type of cat that it features and is very informative and descriptive.
CRITIQUE: This book would be considered a concept picture book. It has many pictures but also very descriptive words of cats. The text is skillfully crafted. I believe it is targeted towards older children because some of the names of the cats would be hard for young children to read or pronounce. Besides the names the book uses simple language for the rest of the text. The illustrations are very good especially when differentiating the different types of cats and what they look like. The use of color in the backgrounds of the pages is very simple and plain, but there is a lot of detail and different colors used in creating textures and differences in the animals. The text and pictures clarify each other very well. There are a ton of different cats in this book but with the text labeling and describing the pictures with clear lines to exactly what it is talking about it make reading and understanding the book alot easier. Lastly, the book does not really follow the literary guidelines. The voice in the book is very informed and formal. The author is naming a lot of facts with little emotion or point of view shown. There is no plot, nor characters it is strictly an informational book. This is not a storybook to read to children, but it is defiantly a good book to teach children about cats, their differences, and many other facts.
RESPONSE: I enjoyed reading this book and found out many facts about cats that i wasn't even aware of. I think this would be useful to have in the classroom especially when doing projects on animals or showing children the differences between household pets. This book is packed full of information and with the pictures and labels it makes it an easy read.
SUMMARY: This book is all about cats. It ranges from different types of cats, their colors, body parts, birthing kittens and even their history in Egypt. This is a good book to reading to somewhat of an older audience that can understand the concepts of breeds and how their use their body parts. The book labels every type of cat that it features and is very informative and descriptive.
CRITIQUE: This book would be considered a concept picture book. It has many pictures but also very descriptive words of cats. The text is skillfully crafted. I believe it is targeted towards older children because some of the names of the cats would be hard for young children to read or pronounce. Besides the names the book uses simple language for the rest of the text. The illustrations are very good especially when differentiating the different types of cats and what they look like. The use of color in the backgrounds of the pages is very simple and plain, but there is a lot of detail and different colors used in creating textures and differences in the animals. The text and pictures clarify each other very well. There are a ton of different cats in this book but with the text labeling and describing the pictures with clear lines to exactly what it is talking about it make reading and understanding the book alot easier. Lastly, the book does not really follow the literary guidelines. The voice in the book is very informed and formal. The author is naming a lot of facts with little emotion or point of view shown. There is no plot, nor characters it is strictly an informational book. This is not a storybook to read to children, but it is defiantly a good book to teach children about cats, their differences, and many other facts.
RESPONSE: I enjoyed reading this book and found out many facts about cats that i wasn't even aware of. I think this would be useful to have in the classroom especially when doing projects on animals or showing children the differences between household pets. This book is packed full of information and with the pictures and labels it makes it an easy read.
November 4, 2016
Gail Gibbons writes and illustrates this non-fiction guide for cats for ages 4 and up. The guide explains different breeds of cats while giving facts on the history of cats, the anatomy of cats, the behavior of cats, and how to take care of a cat.
There are around 3 sentences per page and the dialogue is complicated using words like “ancestor”, “incisor,” and “Falidae.” The book is also long at 32 pages, but it feels longer because of the amount of text per page. The book is very informational and I actually learned a lot from reading this. This really is the ultimate book for young children who want to learn more about cats, or just about their pet cat! This is a lot of information for a child to remember, especially the caring for your kitten, caring for your cat, and myths and unusual facts about cats, which is another reason why this book is not appropriate for those under the age of 4 who don’t have large attention spans. They will most definitely be unable to retain this information.
The illustrations are detailed and the coloring is simple and realistic. The illustrations are almost set up as diagrams, which also might be too complex for a younger child. There is a lot for them to pay attention to with each illustration, there is the illustration itself, but then there is supplying text such as the type of breed of the illustrated cat and certain components of the cat, such as whiskers or nose, or the sound effect ‘PURRR.’
As far as non-fiction books go, this is accurate, from what I know about cats. Not much about cats should have changed since 1996, besides perhaps other additional weird facts about cats. This book isn’t biased in any way, and flows nicely from one topic to the other.
Based on all of these factors, this is a great and developmentally appropriate non-fiction books for ages 4 and up.
There are around 3 sentences per page and the dialogue is complicated using words like “ancestor”, “incisor,” and “Falidae.” The book is also long at 32 pages, but it feels longer because of the amount of text per page. The book is very informational and I actually learned a lot from reading this. This really is the ultimate book for young children who want to learn more about cats, or just about their pet cat! This is a lot of information for a child to remember, especially the caring for your kitten, caring for your cat, and myths and unusual facts about cats, which is another reason why this book is not appropriate for those under the age of 4 who don’t have large attention spans. They will most definitely be unable to retain this information.
The illustrations are detailed and the coloring is simple and realistic. The illustrations are almost set up as diagrams, which also might be too complex for a younger child. There is a lot for them to pay attention to with each illustration, there is the illustration itself, but then there is supplying text such as the type of breed of the illustrated cat and certain components of the cat, such as whiskers or nose, or the sound effect ‘PURRR.’
As far as non-fiction books go, this is accurate, from what I know about cats. Not much about cats should have changed since 1996, besides perhaps other additional weird facts about cats. This book isn’t biased in any way, and flows nicely from one topic to the other.
Based on all of these factors, this is a great and developmentally appropriate non-fiction books for ages 4 and up.
Read
April 2, 2013Tis book is a great read for anyone who loves cats or just wants to know more about them. It covers so much information on numerous topics including, cat breeds, what their body parts are used for, their color, what they eat, and even the historical significance of cats in the Egyptian culture. The pictures are great because they depict exactly what is printed in the text, and can help children visualize the cats they are reading about. Tis is an overall good book, however my only criticism would be that there is a little too much information compacted in such a small book.
July 27, 2011
As usual, Gibbons packs a lot of info into a deceptively slim book, with cute illustrations. My son's outgrown this, though, so I'm donating it to his school's library.
October 3, 2012
Too much information for a small picture book.
March 18, 2013
Excellent non-fiction book. Very informative and it adds fun/funny facts at the end. Could be used for a vocabulary lesson or a how-to on using non-fiction books for sources.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews