חתול גדול חתול קטן

by Ami Rubinger, אמי רובינגר

חתול גדול, חתול קטן, חתול אמיץ, חתול פחדן.
עשרים ושנים חתולים לילדים בחיתולים,
עם איורים משעשעים גם לקטנים גם לגדולים.

אמי רובינגר, מחבר "המפלצת הקופצת" ו"פשפש מתלבש", כתב ואייר.

Genres: Picture Books, Cats, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Ebooks

28 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2009

Reviews

[Gwen the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not crazy about the illustration style of this book of opposites featuring cats, but what I do really like is that when the child is supposed to guess the answer, the answer is NOT written on the page. It's truly a guess. You have your rhyming hints, but it makes a better read-aloud flow as well as a true guessing book.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review as it appears on my blog: www.mommywantstoread.blogspot.com

Can you guess why I requested this from *Netgalley? Yup, cats. For those who do not know my son
is obsessed with cats. I think he almost wishes he were a cat. So I knew that even if he didn't want me to read to him all I would have to do is mention it is a cat book to get him on board the reading train.

Big Cat, Small Cat is a fairly simple rhyming book. All different kinds of cats from ones in cages to ones with colds.

There was a wonderful twist to this book in that there were blanks in some of the rhymes leaving it up to the child/parent to figure out what type of cat it was. With picture clues and simple rhymes my son got a portion of them. He is not very good at rhyming so some he gave the wrong answer to but it was still close enough.

I loved the illustrations and I think my favorite cat was loooong cat. My son didn't have a favorite cause well he loves all cats and he could never pick just one.

When I asked him how many stars he said "One hundred!". I then had to explain that 5 was the max. He sighed and told me, "Fine five stars...but mom it is really 100 stars."

So there you have it another 5 out of 5 stars!



*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a book of opposites this is not exceptional, but it is an excellent book to use for rhyming and phonological awareness. At the end of each two-page spread the text trails off so the children with whom this book is shared must fill in the rhyming word that describes the last image. I'm looking forward to using it in a story time program.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book full of rhyming and opposites. It gives some unique words like petite that provide an opportunity for discussion with children. It also has open sentences so that the children can fill in the blanks with the correct rhyming word using story and picture clues. What a great way to teach parents how to read with their child.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big Cat, Small Cat by Ami Rubinger
Pub Date: March 17, 2009
ISBN: 9780789210296
Illustrated, very colorful children's book.
Pages show and state in words about the sizes and shapes and many other characteristics of different cats.
Good educational tool and fun for all.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, read-aloud with rhyming opposites that you finish the line. Too bad the pictures are a little freaky.

[Vim · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Abbeville Press
by NetGalley

This is a fun book to read. For cat lovers out there this is the book we can read to our children for bed time :) It's fun and interactive. :)

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever omission of rhyming words and demonstration of opposites. Illustrations hideous. Worth a quick read.

[Ruben]

יש כל מיני חתולים פה. וואו! יופי

[Joy Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the interactive component and cute illustrations

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like the art or how the cats are portrayed

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an odd one. I dig his elephant book for ST and have recommended it to others but this one was a lot weirder than that and the cats were kind of freaky.

[Kristen Thorp · Rating 3 out of 5]

228/365

[Sue Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and colourful. I am not sure that this will become a firm favourite in my nursery but the children who like cats enjoyed the pictures especially.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

patty thinks the colors don't pop out enough, but i think it's creative. cute pictures, it rhymes and you have to fill in the ending.

[Tracy Mabry]

Great interaction tool for opposites. The listeners have a chance to complete the rhyme!

[Liane Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Category: Hardcover (Hebrew)

Hebrew title: חתול גדול, חתול קטן

Age: 1-3+ years

Synopsis: Ami Rubinger is a prolific, imaginative Israeli author and illustrator of children’s picture books. His picture books feature whimsical and delightfully absurd stories and illustrations. The books also have reoccurring characters. “Big Cat, Small Cat” is a rhyming book about opposites, in which various cats are labeled by their type (small vs. big, tall vs. short, etc.).

Bilingual benefit: This book is available in Hebrew and English, as are most of Mr. Rubinger’s picture books. Both versions of this fanciful feline book rhyme well. While the English language version of this book is available in Israel, we have always read from the Hebrew version. My Hebrew native-speaker, husband, reads it in Hebrew to our son and I translate it to English as I read it. Our toddler is able to complete the rhymes in Hebrew and to provide the opposites in Hebrew and English. The book also introduced our son to the use of adjectives in Hebrew and English. As there are quite a few alley cats in Israel, our son loves to point out all the “skinny kitties” and “fat kitties” and “white kitties” and “black kitties” in the neighborhood. As a family, we also love this book, along with Mr. Rubinger’s other books, for being a great source of silly humor. We have many, many home videos of our lil guy cracking himself up as he “reads” the book to himself. When he was just shy of 2 years old, he even derived one of his first jokes from the book, declaring that the kitty on the cover was an “aryeh kitty” (lion kitty).

Availability in Israel: The Hebrew and English versions are available in Israel. I have come across the English version in the major chains, Steimatzky and Tzomet Sfarim, in Tel Aviv.

Previewing the book: The Hebrew version of the book is not available for preview on Amazon. However, you can find excerpts of the Hebrew version, including people reading the book out loud, by googling the title in Hebrew (חתול גדול, חתול קטן). The English version is available for preview on Amazon USA. (last checked 2/10/2014).

Lil guy: An all-time favorite.

Mama: Highly recommended. I would buy this again and for a friend. In fact, I gave the Hebrew version as a gift to my son’s preschool!

[Mollie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Big Cat, Small Cat is a comparison book of different types of cats' moods, colors, locations, cleanliness, weight and more; some with open questions for kids to fill in their own idea of what is happening. The illustrations are very basic, but very colorful--all cats are featured on tall or short hills with random colors for the background and various objects placed in the scene. Almost all of the cats feature Cleopatra-like eyes and Cheshire cat grins, which was on the verge of being disturbing and a tad creepy. While I enjoyed the text and think this would be excellent if used in Story Time or Toddler Time, the illustrations were extremely distracting and juvenile. It was almost too plain, with weird lines and unsettling stares from the cats. I think small children would enjoy the text and colorful pages, but slightly older children might just be as creeped out as I was. Okay book, terrible illustrations.

[Jezire C Akin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely adorable! If you love cats and books that have a rhyming pattern than I would definitely suggesting picking this up to read with the children in your life.

I loved the lesson of the story and the fact that it was promoting diversity and gives young readers at the differences between others but also saying that it is okay to be different and that you can still be special.

I thought the art was so vibrant and the fact that this is told with cats is just extra icing on the cake.

I thought the fact that it encourages kids to take part in the reading just adds such a great element to the reading experience. This has been out for several years and I hope people can still find a copy either on Amazon or in their local bookstore because it is definitely worth picking up and reading with your young ones.

I received this book from netgalley.com and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book, especially if the child likes cats. My 7 year old had fun reading this book herself due to the cats. The book is a great teaching tool about opposites, where you see a drawing of a cat that is feeling well and then another cat that is feeling sick. Or one that is brave and another that is scared. These and other combinations are ones I don't remember seeing before in books that talk about opposites. I think that along with the cats makes this book a big winner for me. The book is a bit longer, and because it talks about thinks like fat and thin it is probably better for an older toddler or preschooler who has a wider vocabulary to better understand the pictures.

Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley. The rating, review, and all opinions are my own

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big Cat, Small Cat, like it's companions Dog Number 1, Dog Number 10 and I Dream of an Elephant focuses on one aspect of learning and allows the reader to finish the rhyming line.

The dog book was all about numbers and the elephant book was all about colors, this cat book is all about descriptions and opposites. Happy and sad, up high, down low etc., are just a couple of examples of the quirky illustrated cats in this wonderful children's book.

[Cember · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Ami did an amazing job with this clever book. As a mommy I am always trying to find, not just a book that will hold my hyper daughters attention, but a book that has fun ways to teach my little one things that she doesn't realize she already knows. This book is amazing at doing just that. It isn't just colorful art with a few words here and there. This book has so much more than many books don't hold.

When reading this book my daughters learned different meanings, what is opposite, and we even get to sing out the rhyme which is always our favorite thing to do before bed. Another thing I love about this book? The cover. It just drew my little girl in quickly with it's adorable and very different cats and just made the book catch her interest right away.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on opposites. It would only work with toddlers if I abridged it. Better for preschoolers, and probably better for one on one sharing rather than for storytime. The cat with the cold and the dirty cat are hilarious. It has a picture of a cat reading the exact book that you are reading. Kids looove that! I like that it has the lead in questions like "This cat is nice, this cat is mean, this cat is dirty, this cat is . . .(clean)". I'll probably get Octopus' Opposites by Stella Blackstone for toddlers. I like Ami Rubinger's book I Dream of an Elephant also, which worked for the toddlers in the front row of storytime, anyway.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big Cat, Small Cat is a a wonderful book full of rhyming and opposites. All different kinds of cats from ones in cages to ones with colds are used in the story. At the end of each two-page spread the text trails off so the children with whom this book is shared must fill in the rhyming word that describes the last image. With picture clues and simple rhymes most of them are easy to figure out, but some words (Petite instead of small) might require some support from the adult reading the book. A great read aloud book to teach rhyming to children.

Thank you Netgalley and Abbeville Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[BookDrunkard is on storygraph as bookdrunkard78 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, I love cats, I have a few myself. Usually children's books that have anything to do with animals are a delight. The positives, I liked that it helped show children how to rhyme. I just wish that on the pages where the word was left blank, when you turned the page it would say the word. This cat is small, this cat is.......TALL! So it still gives the child a chance to come up with the word, but gives it to them on the next page. Also, I wasn't thrilled with the illustrations. I think that is a big key in making a children's book work. The writing can be simple, but the illustrations need to pull it all together.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

"This cat is big, this cat is small. This cat is short, this cat is..." This adorable little board book is a great way to teach your kids about opposites, rhyming and prediction. As you read each pair of opposites it will rhyme with the next pair, though that one isn't actually written. The reader, or the one being read to, must guess using the previous line and the clues in the picture. This is a charming interactive concept book to read with your toddlers. And if you like this one, check out some of the others by the same author/illustrator.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This rhyming text with examples of opposites starts of with the cats in the title, one big and one small. The next two are short and ... The pattern of alternating between a page where both opposites are named, then leaving the end of the next rhyme to fill in gets the reader involved quickly. The cats are very bright and colorful and will hold the attention of young readers. It would work well in a lesson on opposites for language arts in the primary grades.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

[zapkode · Rating 5 out of 5]

{my thoughts} - This is a really nice book that touches base on opposites and rhyming. I read this book with my 6 year-old and although there are some words he did not know due to complexity in language, he still enjoyed the book. He also enjoyed pointing out how each of the cats were alike but different at the same time. I believe this is a great book for the kindergarten – first grade level as it appears to fall in that category of learning.

The illustrations are nice, eye catching and easy for a young child to tell that it is in fact pictures of cats.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks for allowing me to share this with my son. I really loved this book - as a cat fan it appealed even more to me. This is a great book for teaching children about opposites - wet dry, small big etc - language that is not always taught by parents automatically. I love the fact it has gaps to encourage the child to pick the correct word for themselves too.
my son is too young to understand yet but he loved looking at the virant pictures, colours etc. Really love this one and would definitely buy it for him.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Netgalley ARC

Once again, Ami Rubinger has written an adorable book that helps children in group particpation as well as teaches opposites in a fun way. Each cat presented has a little rhyme of its own with that missing word at the end again as Ami's other books. The missing word is the opposite of the word described by the rhyme. Each page is entertaining by the art that covers it.

I really enjoyed reading this book and was entertained by the pictures of all the cats and their characteristics.

I rated this book 4/5 stars and recommend it.